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THE  LIFE  AND  CAREER 


OF 


MAJOR    JOHN    ANDRE. 


Si 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  I860,  by 

WINTHROP  SARGENT, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of   Massachusetts 


RIVERSIDE,    CAMBRIDGE: 
STT.HEOTYPED  AND  PRINTED  BY  il.  0.  HOUGHTON. 


TO  1HE 

HONORABLE  JARED  SPARKS, 

AS   A    MEMORIAL   OF 
PUBLIC    ADMIRATION   AND    PERSONAL   FRIENDSHIP, 

THIS     VOLUME 
IS -RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED. 


PREFACE. 


THE  romantic  nature  of  the  circumstances  which 
connect  the  name  of  Major  Andr£  with  the  history  of 
our  Revolution  induced  me  some  time  ago  to  inquire 
more  closely  into  the  details  of  a  character  that  seems 
to  have  inspired  so  warm  an  interest  in  the  minds  of 
all  who  have  had  occasion  to  observe  it.  In  this  un 
dertaking,  I  am  free  to  confess  that  my  success  in 
obtaining  information  has  been  commensurate  neither 
with  my  labors  nor  desires.  No  pains  indeed  were 
spared  to  procure  intelligence  concerning  Andr£  him 
self.  Every  repository  that  could  be  heard  of  was 
examined ;  and  the  old-world  tales  of  those  who 
"mumble  their  wisdom  o'er  the  gossip's  bowl"  have 
been  carefully  gathered  and  sifted.  Thus,  much  curi 
ous  matter  more  or  less  relevant  to  his  story  has  been 
brought  together  from  one  quarter  or  another ;  and 
by  joining  what  has  hitherto  scarcely  been  known  at 
all  with  what  every  one  knows,  something  like  a  con 
nected  sketch  of  his  career  has  been  compiled.  Sev 
eral  of  the  manuscript  authorities  that  I  have  made 
use  of  (such  as  the  Notes  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on 
a  copy  of  Stedman's  American  War,  and  the  origi- 


VHi  PREFACE. 

nal  Journals  and  papers  of  members  of  either  party 
in  our  Revolution)  appeared  to  me  to  possess  no  light 
value,  and  I  thought  it  well  to  take  advantage  of  an 
opportunity  to  set  their  contents  before  the  world  ere 
the  documents  themselves  should  perish  ;  for,  as  honest 
old  Aubrey  says  —  u  'tis  pitie  that  they  should  fall 
into  the  merciless  hands  of  women,  and  be  put  under 
pies."  This  consideration  may  perhaps  apologize  for 
the  insertion  of  more  than  one  paragraph  whose  direct 
connection  with  the  subject  of  this  volume  might  not 
otherwise  be  very  manifest.  With  these  acquisitions, 
however,  in  hand,  and  with  such  sketches  of  the 
political  and  social  condition  of  affairs  during  the 
period  as  naturally  followed  the  thread  of  the  story, 
the  preparation  of  the  following  pages  gave  me  a  very 
pleasant  employment  for  some  leisure  country  weeks. 
Whether  they  will  prove  as  easy  in  the  reading  as 
they  were  in  the  writing  is  another  question.  If  I 
have  not  entirely  pursued  the  plan  commemorated  by 
Miguel  Cervantes,  and  eked  out  my  task  with  profuse 
histories  of  every  giant  or  river  which  crosses  its  path, 
I  have  at  least  avoided  pestering  the  reader  with  a 
myriad  of  references  and  authorities.  There  are  in 
deed  vouchers  for  the  facts  put  forward  :  but  to  drag 
them  all  in  on  every  occasion  great  or  small,  would 
too  much  cumber  my  text.  As  it  is,  I  fear  that  the 
critical  reader  will  find  the  book  amenable  to  the 
censure  of  the  nobleman  in  Guzman  D'Alfarache, 
who,  having  ordered  a  picture  of  his  horse,  com- 


PREFACE.  IX 

plained  that  though  indeed  his  steed  was  faithfully 
enough  drawn,  the  canvas  was  so  loaded  with  other 
objects  —  temples,  trees,  and  the  setting  sun  —  that 
poor  Bavieca  was  the  least  prominent  part  of  the 
production.  This  is  a  fault  of  which  no  one  is  more 
conscious  than  myself;  yet  there  is  room  for  a  hope 
that  it  may  still  find  pardon,  since  many  of  the  pas 
sages  which  are  not  immediately  personal  to  Andre 
himself  are  nevertheless  more  or  less  involved  with 
the  mighty  events  in  which  he  was  concerned,  and 
often  are  compiled  from  sources  hitherto  unexplored. 
For  access  to  many  of  these  I  am  especially  indebted 
to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Sparks,  Mr.  Bancroft,  and 
Mr.  John  Carter  Brown,  whose  American  library  is 
the  most  admirable  collection  of  the  kind  that  I  have 
ever  seen  in  private  hands.  To  Mr.  Tefft  of  Sa 
vannah,  Mr.  Cope,  Mr.  Townsend  Ward,  and  Mr. 
Penington  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  several  others,  I 
am  under  obligations  for  valuable  aid  and  friendly 
suggestions. 

The  map  that  accompanies  this  volume  is  engraved 
from  a  number  of  original  military  drawings  by  Ville- 
franche  and  other  engineers,  and  preserved  by  Major 
Sargent  of  the  American  Army,  who  was  stationed  at 
West  Point  as  aide  to  General  Howe  until  that  of 
ficer  was  relieved  by  Arnold. 

WINTHROP  SARGENT. 

Adams  County,  Mississippi. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
CHAPTER  I. 

Andre's  Parentage,  Birth,  and  Early  Life.  —  Nicholas  St.  Andre".— 
Miss  Seward.  —  His  Courtship.  —  Letters  to  Miss  Seward,        .        .      1 


CHAPTER  H. 

Failure  of  Andrews  Courtship.  —  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth.  —  Thomas 
Day. —Marriage  and  Death  of  Miss  Sneyd, 29 


CHAPTER  III. 

Andre*  joins  the  Army.  — Visits  Germany.  —  Condition  of  the  Service. 
—  He  comes  to  America.  —  State  of  American  Affairs,      .        .        .39 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Political  Condition  of  Massachusetts  in  1774.  —  State  of  Affairs  at  Bos 
ton,  57 

CHAPTER    V. 

Condition  of  Canada  in  1775.  —  Operations  on  Lake  Champlain  and 
the  Sorel.  —  Fall  of  Fort  St.  John,  and  Capture  of  Andre",  .  .  71 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Andrews  Captivity.  — Detained  in  Pennsylvania.  —  Treatment  of  Pris 
oners. —  Andre's  Relations  with  the  Americans.  —  His  Letters  to 
Mr.  Cope.  —  Exchange  and  Promotion.  —  Sir  Charles  Grey.  —  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  and  the  Operations  on  the  Hudson,  .  •  •  •  H3 


xii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  British  embark  for  Philadelphia.  —  Brandywine,  the  Paoli,  and 
Germantown.  —  Andre's  Humanity.  —  Occupation  and  Fortification 
of  Philadelphia.  —  Character  of  the  City  in  1777,  .  .  .  .106 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Affairs  at  Philadelphia.  —  Disorders  and  Discontents.  —  Fall  of  Red 
Bank. — Andre"  follows  Grey  with  Howe  to  Whitemarsh. —  Charac 
ter  of  Sir  William  Howe,  .........  123 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  British  Army  in  Philadelphia.  —  Features  of  the  Occupation. — 
Sir  William  Erskine.  —  Abercrombie.  —  Simcoe.  —  Lord  Cathcart. — 
Tarleton.  —  Andre's  Social  Relations  in  the  City.  —  Verses  composed 
by  him.  —  Amateur  Theatricals.  —  Misconduct  of  the  Royal  Arms. 
—  The  Mischianza.  —  Andre's  Account  of  it.  — Howe  removed  from 
the  Command, 143 

CHAPTER  X. 

Evacuation  of  Philadelphia.  —Battle  of  Monmouth.  —  D'Estaing's  Ar 
rival.  —  Andre"  accompanies  Grey  against  New  Bedford.  —  His  Sa 
tirical  Verses  on  the  Investment  of  Newport.  — Aide  to  Clinton.  — 
Character  of  this  General.  —  Andrews  Verses  upon  an  American  Duel,  182 

CHAPTER  XI. 

New  York  in  1778.  —  Andre's  Political  Essay.  — His  Favor  with  Clin 
ton. —  Receives  the  Surrender  of  Fort  La  Fayette.  —  Letter  to  Mrs. 
Arnold.  —  Commencement  of  Arnold's  Intrigue.  —  Appointed  Deputy 
Adjutant-General. —  Siege  of  Charleston.  —  Letter  to  Savannah.— 
Accused  of  entering  Charleston  as  a  Spy, '200 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Clinton  returns  to  New  York.  —  Proposed  Attack  on  Rochambeau.  — 
Plans  for  a  Loyal  Uprising.  —  Anecdotes  of  Andre.  —  The  Cow-Chase,  230 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Progress  of  Arnold's  Treason.  —  Condition  of  American  Affairs  in  1780. 
—  Plans  for  Surrendering  West  Point.  —  Letters  between  Andn-  and 
Arnold.  —  An  Interview  Concerted.  —  Andre's  Last  Hours  in  Ne\v 
York, 2-"0 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

Robinson  sent  to  Communicate  with  Arnold.  —  Correspondence.  —  An 
dre*  goes  to  the  Vulture.  —  Correspondence  with  Clinton  and  Arnold. 
—  Joshua  Hett  Smith  selected  as  Arnold's  Messenger,  .  .  .  269 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Andre"  leaves  the  Vulture.  —  Interview  with  Arnold  and  its  Results.  —  2So 
Plans  for  Return.  —  Sets  out  with  Smith  by  Land,    .... 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Andre's  Journey.  —  Westchester  County.  —  Skinners  and  Cow-boys. 
—  Andrews  Capture.  — Various  Accounts  of  its  Circumstances,        .  302 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Andre  a  Prisoner  in  our  Lines.  —  Intercourse  with  American  Officers. 
—  Letters  to  Washington. — Arnold's  Escape, 321 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Andre"  brought  to  West  Point.  —  Sent  to  Tappaan.  —  His  Case  sub 
mitted  to  a  Court  of  Enquiry.  —  Its  Decision  approved  by  Washing 
ton, 336 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Andre's  Deportment  after  the  Death -Warrant.  —  Letters  to  Clinton, 
and  between  Washington  and  the  British  Generals.  —  Plans  for  sub 
stituting  Arnold  for  Andre*.  —  The  Execution  delayed,  .  .  .  357 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Expedients  of  the  British  to  procure  Andrews  Liberation.  —  Their  Fail 
ure.  —  Correspondence  in  the  Case,     .......  373 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Andre*  applies  to  be  Shot.  —  His  Request  denied.  —  He  is  hanged.  — 
Various  Accounts  of  the  Execution.  —  Honors  bestowed  on  his  Mem 
ory.  —  His  Remains  removed  to  Westminster  Abbey,  .  .  .  390 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Considerations  upon  the  Justice  of  Andrews  Sentence. —Conflicting 
Opinions.  —  Character  of  our  Generals.  —  Reflections  on  Andre's 
Fate, 413 

APPENDIX. 

No.      I.  Benedict  Arnold,     ......  .  447 

No.    II.  The  Captors, .461 

No.  III.  Verses  connected  with  Andrews  Execution,     ....  464 

No.  IV.  Colonel  Benjamin  Tallmadge  to  General  Heath,    .        .        .  469 


/fs^/tv) 


LIFE  OF   MAJOR  ANDRE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Andres  Parentage,  Birth,  and  Early  Life. — Nicholas  St.  Andre.  —  Miss 
Seward.  —  His  Courtship.  —  Letters  to  Miss  Seward. 

ACCORDING  to  Debrett,  Burke,  and  other  genealogical 
authorities,  John  Andre  was  descended  from  a  French 
refugee  family,  settled  in  England,  at  Southampton,  in  the 
county  of  Hants  ;  but  whether  this  descent  was  by  the  pater 
nal  or  the  maternal  line,  does  not  appear.  His  mother,  whose 
family  name  was  Girardot,  though  of  French  parentage,  was 
born  at  London.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Geneva  in 
Switzerland  ;  but  it  would  seem  that  a  very  considerable 
portion  of  his  life  must  have  been  passed  in  London,  where 
he  carried  on  an  extensive  business  in  the  Levant  trade,  and 
where  also,  in  1780,  several  of  his  brothers  had  their  abode. 
Of  these,  Dr.  Andree,  of  Hatton  Gardens,  was  apparently 
the  only  one  who  preserved  what  is  said  to  have  been  an 
earlier  method  of  spelling  the  family  name. 

Notwithstanding  the  establishment  of  a  part  of  the  Andre 
family  in  England,  its  connections  upon  the  continent  would 
appear  to  have  been  the  most  numerous  and  the  most  per 
manent.  Indeed,  the  name  is  not  an  uncommon  one,  and 
the  biographical  dictionaries  supply  a  numerous  list  of 
persons  bearing  it,  and  distinguished  in  various  lines.  Of 
course  it  is  impossible  to  trace  any  relationship  between  the 
majority  of  these  and  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  During 


LIT^E  ,OF  MA  JOB   ANDRlL 


her  sojourn  at  Naples, 'riot  long 'after  Major  Andre's  death, 
Mrs.  Piozzi  relates  that  she  became  acquainted  with  "  the 
Swedish  minister,  Monsieur  Andre,  uncle  to  the  lamented 
officer  who  perished  in  our  sovereign's  service  in  America  :  " 
but  the  only  result  of  recent  inquiries,  set  on  foot  in  Sweden 
and  carried  as  far  as  the  isle  of  Gottland,  in  the  Baltic,  is  to 
discredit  her  assertion.  There  exist,  indeed,  in  that  kingdom, 
the  families  of  Andre  and  Andree,  which  have  given  to  the 
state  men  of  high  official  rank ;  yet  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  Major  Andre  was  of  the  same  blood.  Turning 
to  Germany,  however,  we  are  more  successful.  Branches 
of  the  stock  from  which  he  sprung  have  long  been  seated 
at  Frankfort-on-the-Maine  and  at  Offenbach ;  some  of  the 
members  of  which  are  very  well  known  to  the  world  as 
publishers  and  editors  of  numerous  musical  works,  and  es 
pecially  of  Mozart's.  The  most  celebrated  of  these  was 
Johann  Andre,  author  of  the  opera  of  The  Potter,  who  wras 
born  at  Offenbach  in  1741,  and  who  died  in  1799. 

Though  as  yet  opportunity  is  wanting  to  verify  the  suppo 
sition,  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  a  near  connec 
tion  existed  between  the  immediate  family  of  Major  Andre 
and  the  once  celebrated  Nicholas  St.  Andre  of  Southampton  ; 
—  a  character  whose  career  is  scarcely  to  be  paralleled  even 
in  the  pages  of  Gil  Bias.  This  person  came  over  to  England, 
from  his  native  Switzerland,  at  a  very  early  age,  and,  prob 
ably,  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  By  his 
own  account,  his  origin  was  perfectly  respectable,  and  even 
distinguished  ;  and  in  his  later  days  he  would  assert  that  by 
right  he  was  possessed  of  a  title.  Yet  he  arrived  in  Eng 
land  in  the.  train  of  a  Jewish  family,  and,  it  is  said,  in  a 
menial  position.  H«  was  related  to  a  famous  dancing-mas 
ter  of  the  same  name  who  is  mentioned  in  Dryden's  Mac 
Elecknoe,  published  in  1682: 

"  St.  Andre's  feet  ne'er  kept  more  equal  time;  " 
and  was  himself  originally  destined  for  a  fencing  or  a   danc- 


NICHOLAS   ST.  AXDR£.  3 

ing  master.  His  knowledge  of  the  French  tongue  extended 
to  all  the  provincial  dialects,  and  it  is  conjectured  that  he 
was,  for  a  time,  a  teacher  of  that  language ;  his  sister  cer 
tainly  followed  this  occupation  at  a  Chelsea  boarding-school. 
But  being  early  placed  with  a  surgeon,  he  rapidly  acquired 
such  a  considerable,  though  perhaps  superficial,  knowledge  in 
that  science,  that  he  soon  rose  to  a  conspicuous  position,  and 
was  among  the  first  to  deliver  public  lectures  upon  surgery. 
To  an  invincible  assurance  he  united  such  a  variety  of  ac 
complishments  that  we  need  not  wonder  at  his  receiving  the 
appointment  of  Anatomist  to  the  Royal  Household,  and  being 
presented  by  George  I.  with  the  King's  own  sword.  He  was 
singularly  expert  not  only  in  manly  exercises,  such  as  fenc 
ing,  running,  jumping,  or  riding  the  great  horse,  but  also  in 
pursuits  that  involve  the  employment  of  mental  ingenuity. 
At  chess  he  was  an  adept ;  and  his  pretensions  in  botany, 
architecture,  and  music,  were  very  respectable.  Indeed,  his 
skill  with  the  viol  de  gambo  was  something  remarkable.  In 
1723,  he  printed  an  account  of  a  mysterious  adventure  that 
had  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  His  story  made  a  great  sensa 
tion  at  the  time,  and  the  Privy  Council  offered  a  reward  for 
the  detection  of  his  assailants ;  but  it  has  not  always  encoun 
tered  implicit  confidence.  A  little  later,  however,  he  became 
involved  in  another  affair  by  which  his  professional  reputa 
tion  was  hopelessly  damaged.  It  seems  that  when  the  im 
postor  Mary  Tofts,  the  rabbit-breeder  of  Godalming,  came 
forth  with  her  wonderful  tale,  St.  Andre  was  among  the 
readiest  of  her  believers.  He  professed  to  have  examined 
carefully  into  the  matter,  and  that  the  story  she  told  was  en 
tirely  faithful.  It  is  difficult  at  this  day  to  rightly  estimate 
the  credulity  of  the  English  people  on  that  occasion.  High 
and  low  were  infected  with  the  absurd  conviction  that  the 
race  of  rabbits  were  of  the  children  of  men.  "  The  public 
horror  was  so  great  that  the  rent  of  rabbit-warrens  sank  to 
nothing ;  and  nobody,  till  the  delusion  was  over,  presumed 
to  eat  a  rabbit."  The  learned  Whiston  not  only  devoutly 


4  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR£. 

believed  in  the  fable,  but  wrote  a  pamphlet  to  prove,  in  its 
occurrence,  the  fulfilment  of  a  prophecy  in  Esdras.  In 
short,  as  Lord  Onslow  wrote  to  the  great  naturalist,  Sir 
Hans  Sloane,  (Dec.  4,  1726,)  all  England  was  disturbed  by 
this  story.  But  Queen  Caroline  having  charged  Dr.  Ches- 
elden  to  investigate  the  matter,  the  imposture  was  speedily 
exposed,  and  they  whose  countenance  had  given  it  all  its 
weight  were  now  visited  with  a  full  measure  of  public  oppro 
brium.  Swift,  and  perhaps  Arbuthnot,  had  already  taken  up 
the  pen  against  St.  Andre,  and  now  Hogarth  seized  on  him. 
In  the  print  of  Mary  Tofts,  he  is  introduced ;  and  in  another 
entitled  The  Wise  Men  of  Godliman,  the  figure  marked  A 
is  designed  for  the  court  anatomist.  Again,  in  the  print  of 
The  Doctors  in  Labor,  he  figures  as  a  merry-andrew ;  and 
by  a  host  of  coarse  caricatures  and  doggerel  ballads  his  weak 
ness  was  stigmatized  and  made  yet  more  ridiculous.  In  De 
cember,  1726,  the  affair  was  burlesqued  upon  the  stage,  — •  a 
new  rabbit-scene  being  added  to  the  play  of  The  Necroman 
cer  ;  and  in  1727,  the  ballad  of  St.  Andre's  Miscarriage  was 
sung  through  the  streets : 

•'  He  dissected,  compared,  and  distinguish' d  likewise, 
The  make  of  these  rabbits,  their  growth  and  their  size; 
He  preserv'd  them  in  spirits  and  —  a  little  too  late, 
Preserv'd  (  Vtrtue  sculpslt)  a  neat  copperplate." 

The  consequence  was,  that  on  his  return  to  Court  he  was  so 
coldly  treated  that  he  would  never  reappear ;  nor,  though 
continuing  to  hold  his  appointment  till  his  death,  would  he 
touch  the  official  salary.  A  more  amusing  circumstance  was 
his  testiness  for  the  future  upon  the  subject  of  rabbits  ;  abso 
lutely  forbidding  any  allusion,  even  to  their  name,  being  ever 
again  made  in  his  presence. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  1730,  St.  Andre  married  Lady 
Betty  Molyneux,  the  childless  widow  of  Samuel  Molyneux, 
M.  P.,  who  brought  him,  it  was  said,  £30,000.  The  lady's 
conduct  was  so  imprudent  that  she  was  forthwith  dismissed 
by  the  Queen  from  her  service.  Mr.  Molyneux  was  but  re- 


NICHOLAS   ST.  ANDRE.  5 

cently  dead,  and  whispers  named  her  as  his  murderer :  nor 
did  her  second  husband  escape  a  share  of  the  imputation. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Madden,  of  Dublin,  however,  having  made 
use  of  this  scandal  in  a  pamphlet,  St.  Andre  at  once  prose 
cuted  him  successfully  for  defamation.  But  the  accusation 
has  been  immortalized  by  Pope,  in  the  second  dialogue  of 
the  Epilogue  to  his  Satires,  where  "  the  poisoning  dame  "  is 
brought  into  discussion.  St.  Andre  had  once  the  good  for 
tune  to  attend  the  poet  when  he  was  upset  in  Lord  Boling- 
broke's  coach  as  it  returned  from  Dawley.  His  fingers  were 
incurably  wounded,  and  this  being  the  nearest  surgeon,  was 
called  in.*  About  1755,  he  took  up  his  permanent  abode  at 
Southampton.  The  greater  part  of  the  property  that  came 
with  Lady  Betty  passed  on  her  death  to  Sir  Capel  Moly- 
neux ;  and  St.  Andre's  expensive  tastes  dissipated  much  of 
what  remained.  Architecture  was  one  of  his  hobbies ;  and 
large  sums  were  squandered  on  a  house  at  Chepstow.  About 
a  mile's  distance  from  Southampton,  he  erected  a  thoroughly 
inconvenient  dwelling,  which  he  called  Belle- Yue,  and  boasted 
it  as  constructed  "  on  the  true  principles  of  anatomy."  He 
had,  however,  another  dwelling  within  the  town,  with  a  large 
and  valuable  library;  and  here  he  died  in  March,  1776, 
being  then  upwards  of  ninety-six  years  of  age. 

St.  Andre  is  represented  as  having  been  loose  in  religion 
and  in  morals ;  of  a  vivacious  and  agreeable  manner  in  con 
versation  ;  his  speech  abounding  in  foreign  idioms ;  his  coun 
tenance  fierce  and  muscular.  In  earlier  life  his  manners 
must  have  been  polite  and  graceful,  from  the  social  positions 
to  which  he  rose  ;  but  Nichols,  who  wrote  of  him  after  death, 
and  who  characterizes  him  as  "  a  profligate  man  of  an  amo- 


*  St.  Andre"  is  also,  truly  or  falsely,  reported  as  having  had  a  share  in 
a  strange  rencontre  between  the  Earl  of  Peterborough  and  his  guest,  the 
famous  Voltaire,  on  occasion  of  the  detection  of  the  latter  in  a  piece  of 
pecuniary  dishonesty.  The  earl  would  have  slain  him  but  for  the  presence 
of  St.  Andre,  who  held  him  tightly  while  Voltaire  fled  —  not  only  from  the 
house,  but  from  the  kingdom. —  Gent.  Mag.,  1797. 


G  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF.. 

rous  constitution,"  declares  that  "  no  man  will  be  hardy  enough 
to  assert  that  the  figure,  manners,  and  language  of  St.  Andre 
were  those  of  a  gentleman." 

Such  was  the  character  with  whom,  as  has  already  been 
observed,  John  Andre  was  probably  nearly  allied  by  blood 
as  well  as  by  name  ;  though  why  the  latter  was  altered  to 
Andre  or  Andree,  we  do  not  know.  It  is  not  likely  that  any 
of  the  lineage  now  reside  in  England.  About  1820  or  1825, 
when  a  young  French  gentleman,  M.  Ernest  Andre,  came 
over  from  Paris  on  a  visit  to  the  surviving  sisters  of  Major 
Andre,  he  was  declared  by  those  ladies  to  be  their  nearest 
living  relative. 

Where  John  Andre  was  born,  cannot  with  certainty  be 
stated.  It  may  have  occurred  at  London,  where  his  father, 
after  the  fashion  of  those  days,  had  long  had  his  dwelling  and 
his  place  of  business  under  one  roof,  in  Warnford  Court, 
Throgmorton  Street.  Or  it  may  have  been  at  Southampton, 
since  in  1780  we  find  his  mother,  then  a  widow  and  chiefly 
residing  with  her  brother,  Mr.  Girardot,  in  Old  Broad  Street, 
London,  yet  still  possessing  a  house  there.  We  are  able  to 
fix  the  date  of  his  birth  with  more  accuracy ;  although,  even 
on  this  head,  the  contemporaneous  accounts  are  conflicting : 
one  pointing  to  the  year  1749,  and  another  to  1752  ;  while' 
Rose  puts  it  at  London,  in  1750.  But  the  monumental  inscrip 
tion  in  Westminster  Abbey  that  says  "  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
his  zeal  for  his  king  and  country,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1780, 
aged  twenty-nine,"  and  which  is  followed  by  Lord  Mahon,  is 
borne  out  by  a  letter  of  Andre's  own,  written  in  October, 
1769,  in  which  he  speaks  of  himself  as  "a  poor  novice  of 
eighteen."  Hence  we  may  fairly  ascribe  the  period  of  his 
birth  to  the  year  1751. 

The  very  little  that  is  known  respecting  Andre's  earlier 
years,  renders  it  proper  to  be  particular  in  presenting  to  the 
reader  such  details,  naked  though  they  be,  as  can  now  be 
laid  hold  of;  and  even  these  do  not  always  agree,  as  they 
come  to  us  from  his  contemporaries.  One  story  gives  West- 


EARLY  LIF£.  7 

minster  as  the  scene  of  his  education,  and  with  a  particular 
ity  that  brings  to  mind  the  circumstantial  evidence  of  Sheri 
dan's  double-letter  scene,  even  fixes  the  date  "  near  the  latter 
end  of  Dr.  Markham's  time,  now  Archbishop  of  York."  In 
this  case,  he  might  have  had  for  school-mates  Thomas  and 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  so  renowned  afterwards  in 
the  service  of  their  country  in  the  war  that  cost  Andre  his 
life ;  while  for  a  master  he  would  have  had  a  man  whom 
Gibbon  distinguished,  among  the  whole  bench  of  English 
bishops,  for  eminent  scholarship  and  skill  in  the  instruction 
of  youth.  This  was  the  prelate,  too,  whose  feelings  towards 
insurgent  America  are  thus  alluded  to  by  Lord  John  Towns- 
hend: 

"  To  Cramner's  stake  be  Adams  ty'd  ; 
Mild  Markham  preaching  by  his  side 

The  traitor's  heart  will  gain : 
For  if  he  sees  the  blaze  expire, 
Locke's  works  he '11  fling  to  wake  the  fire, 

And  put  him  out  of  pain." 

Another  account,  however,  says  that  he  was  first  placed  at 
Hackney,  under  a  Mr.  Newcombe  ;  whence  he  was  after  a 
time  withdrawn,  and  sent  for  several  years  to  Geneva  to  com 
plete  his  education.  It  may  be  that  both  of  these  stories  are 
correct ;  that  from  Hackney  he  went  to  St.  Paul's,  and  thence 
to  Geneva ;  but  wherever  he  was  taught,  his  acquirements 
were  such  as  to  reflect  honor  alike  on  the  teacher  and  the 
pupil.  He  was  master  of  many  things  that  in  those  days 
very  rarely  constituted  a  part  of  a  gentleman's  education, 
and  which,  indeed,  even  in  these  are  to  be  found  rather  in 
exceptions  than  the  rule.  The  modern  European  languages 
—  French,  German,  Italian,  &c.  —  are  said  to  have  been 
possessed  by  him  in  singular  perfection ;  while  in  music, 
painting,  drawing,  and  dancing,  he  particularly  excelled. 
When  we  consider  that  with  these  accomplishments  was 
joined  a  nature  always  ambitious  of  distinction,  a  mind 
stored  with  the  belles  lettres  of  the  day,  and  endowed  not 
only  with  a  taste  for  poetry,  but  with  considerable  readiness  in 


8  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDli£. 

its  composition  ;  and  a  person  which,  though  slender,  was  re 
markably  active  and  graceful,  we  need  not  wonder  that  his 
attractions  were  such  as  to  win  the  favor  of  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  At  the  university  of  Geneva,  he  was 
remarked  for  a  diligent  student,  and  for  an  active  and  in 
quiring  mind ;  and  in  especial  was  distinguished  by  his 
proficiency  in  the  schools  of  mathematics  and  of  military 
drawings.  To  his  skill  in  this  last  branch,  his  subsequent 
rapid  advancement  in  the  army  was  in  great  part  attrib 
utable. 

Andre's  father  was  a  respectable  merchant,  whose  success 
had  been  sufficiently  great  to  convince  him  that  his  own  pro 
fession  was  the  very  best  his  son  could  embrace  ;  yet  not  suf 
ficient  to  enable  him  to  give  that  son  a  fortune  which  would 
permit  him  to  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  inclinations.  In 
this  relation,  it  would  seem  as  though  the  old  gentleman  had 
pursued  very  much  the  same  course  as  that  adopted  by  the 
elder  Osbaldistone,  in  Rob  Roy ;  and  to  a  certain  extent  the 
consequences  weje  alike.  Summoned  home  from  the  conti 
nent,  young  Andre  found  a  place  assigned  him  in  his  father's 
counting-house,  where  for  some  time  he  appears  to  have 
undergone  that  training  which  it  was  hoped  and  expected 
would  enable  him  to  carry  on  successfully  the  business  that 
had  already  afforded  a  competency  to  its  founder.  For,  in 
the  process  of  time,  his  father  had  found  himself  in  condition 
to  withdraw  from  at  least  the  more  laborious  cares  of  his  af 
fairs,  and,  abandoning  the  residence  in  Throgmorton  Street, 
had  removed  his  household  to  a  country-seat  at  Clapton, 
called  The  Manor  House.  This  building,  now  used  for  a 
school,  is  still  standing  opposite  to  Brook  House,  Clapton 
Gate ;  and  the  graves  of  several  of  its  former  occupants  are 
to  be  seen  in  Hackney  churchyard,  hard  by  the  old  tower. 

Although  at  this  stage  in  his  career  there  is  no  evidence 
that  John  Andre's  conduct  was  that  of 

"  A  clerk  condemned  his  father's  soul  to  cross, 
Who  penned  a  stanza  when  he  should  engross;" 


EAKLY  LIF&  9 

yet  we  may  fairly  infer,  from  his  own  language,  that  the  com 
mercial  line  of  life  chalked  out  for  him  was  less  to  his  taste 
than  the  profession  of  arms  ;  that,  like  young  Frank  Osbald- 
istone,  in  preference  to  any  other  active  pursuit,  he  would 
choose  the  army ;  and  that  the  desk  and  stool  "  by  a  small  coal- 
fire  in  a  gloomy  compting-house  in  Warnford  Court,"  would 
have  been  joyfully  exchanged  for  the  sash  and  gorget,  and 
any  barrack-yard  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  bent  of  his 
studies  at  Geneva  must  have  satisfied  his  judgment  as  to  the 
sphere  in  which  he  was  best  calculated  to  attain  success. 
But  his  years  were  too  few  to  enable  him  to  oppose  his 
father's  wishes ;  and  in  1767  or  1768,  when  about  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  of  age,  he  entered  the  counting-house.  Nor 
did  the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  at  the  house  in 
Clapton,  in  April,  1769,  make  at  the  time  any  material  dif 
ference  in  the  nature  of  his  avocations. 

What  family  was  left  by  the  elder  Andre  can  only  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  in  1780,  besides  his  widow,  there 
still  remained  a  second  son,  William  Lewis,  who  was  eight 
years  behind  his  brother ;  and  three  daughters,  Louisa  Cath 
erine,  Mary  Hannah,  and  Anne.  The  last  is  said  to  have 
been  distinguished  for  a  poetical  talent.  In  her  Monody, 
Miss  Seward  thus  makes  her  hero  address  this  little  domestic 
band  on  his  departure  for  America : 

"  Dim  clouds  of  Woe !  ye  veil  each  sprightly  grace 
That  us'd  to  sparkle  in  MARIA'S  face. 
My  tuneful  ANNA  to  her  lute  complains, 
But  Grief's  fond  throbs  arrest  the  parting  strains. 
Fair  as  the  silver  blossom  on  the  thorn, 
Soft  as  the  spirit  of  the  vernal  morn, 
LOUISA,  chase  those  trembling  fears,  that  prove 
Th'  ungovern'd  terror's  of  a  sister's  love ; 
They  bend  thy  sweet  head,  like  yon  lucid  flow'r 
That  shrinks  and  fades  beneath  the  summer's  show'r. 
Oh!  smile,  my  sisters,  on  this  destin'd  day, 
And  with  the  radiant  omen  gild  my  way ! ' ' 

Of  these  sisters,  Louisa  Catherine  was  born  about  1754,  and 
Mary  Hannah  about  1752,  according  to  the  inscriptions  in 


10  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDEF.. 

the  churchyard  at  Bath- Hampton,  where  they  are  buried  ;  — 
the  last  of  these  two  dates  going  far  to  fix  that  of  Major 
Andre's  birth  as  of  1751. 

In  1780  also  there  were  yet  living  at  London  two  brothers 
of  the  elder  Andre  :  Mr.  David  Andre*  of  New  Broad  Street, 
and  Mr.  John  Lewis  Andre,  of  Warnford  Court,  Throgmorton 
Street ;  who  were  known  to  the  community  as  respectable 
Turkey  merchants,  and  who  doubtless  still  carried  on  at  the 
old  place  the  business  in  which  their  brother  had  prospered 
well,  but  which  their  nephews  had  declined.  For  it  was  not 
John  alone  who  renounced  the  ledger  for  the  spontoon.  Not 
very  long  after  he  entered  the  army  he  was  followed  by  his 
only  brother,  whose  years  forbid  the  supposition  that  he  could 
ever  have  had  any  prolonged  experience  in  the  mysteries  of 
trade. 

During  some  months  after  his  father's  death,  John  Andre 
was  probably  sufficiently  occupied  with  new  and  urgent  cares, 
to  prevent  his  taking  any  active  step  towards  freeing  himself 
from  the  chains  of  business.  From  circumstances  we  may 
conclude  that  th*e  summer  of  1769  —  the  year  in  which  he 
became  the  head  of  his  mother's  house  — -  was  passed  by  the 
family  at  Buxton,  Matlock,  and  other  places  in  the  interior 
of  England,  whither  it  was  customary  for  invalids,  and  per 
sons  whose  health  was  impaired  by  affliction,  to  resort  for  re 
lief  and  change  of  scene :  and  if  it  was  not  now  that  he  first 
became  acquainted  with  Miss  Seward,  it  is  at  least  almost 
certain  that  he  formed  with  another  lady  a  friendship  that 
left  its  coloring  on  the  whole  of  his  future  life. 

Anna  Seward,  the  eulogist  of  Major  Andre,  was  born  at 
Eyam,  in  Derbyshire,  in  1747.  The  bishop's  palace  at 
Lichfield,  in  which  her  father  —  who  was  a  canon  of  the 
cathedral  there  —  resided,  was  the  head-quarters  of  the  lit 
erary  world  of  that  region,  and  of  the  better  classes  of  society 
generally  ;  and  we  are  told,  by  one  well  fitted  to  judge,  that 
at  this  period  Miss  Seward,  by  grace  and  beauty  of  person, 
and  by  conversational  skill,  was  amply  qualified  to  maintain 


MISS   SEWARD.  11 

the  attractions  of  the  house.  She  was  besides  of  an  enthusi 
astic,  not  to  say  romantic  disposition,  and  not  a  little  addicted 
to  the  perpetration  of  a  sort  of  poetry,  "  most  of  which,"  says 
her  friend  and  biographer,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  "  is  absolutely 
execrable."  With  many  virtues  she  appears  to  have  pos 
sessed  a  certain  spice  of  that  self-conceit  which  results  from 
an  exaggerated  opinion  of  one's  own  capacity,  and  in  the 
writings  of  her  contemporaries  occurs  more  than  one  sarcas 
tic  allusion,  that  savors  rather  of  personal  than  of  literary 
animadversion.  But  between  Andre  and  herself  no  other 
feeling  than  of  delicate  and  tender  friendship  seems  ever  to 
have  subsisted ;  and  the  lines  in  which  she  bewailed  his  un 
happy  fate,  were  evidently  the  genuine  expression  of  her  sor 
row  and  regret. 

The  character  of  the  society  at  Lichfield  has  already  been 
referred  to.  The  little  circle  that  was  accustomed  to  pay  its 
homage  to  Miss  Seward  and  to  receive  her  smiles  and  praises 
in  return,  if  not  a  constellation  of  the  first  magnitude,  com 
prised  at  least  many  names  which  in  those  days  occupied  a 
respectable  rank  in  the  republic  of  letters.  Foremost  among 
them  was  Dr.  Darwin,  the  author  of  The  Botanic  Garden, 
but,  unless  we  except  the  lines  — 

"  Soon  shall  thy  arm,  unconquered  steam,  afar 
Drag  the  slow  barge,  or  drive  the  rapid  car," 

better  known  to  this  generation  by  Canning's  sarcastic  par 
ody,  The  Loves  of  the  Triangles,  than  by  anything  of  his 
own.  Then  follow  Hayley,  the  author  of  the  Triumphs  of 
Temper ;  Sir  Brooke  Boothby ;  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth  ; 
the  eccentric  Thomas  Day,  whose  story  of  Sandford  and 
Merton  for  a  time  rivalled  even  Robinson  Crusoe  in  pop 
ularity  ;  and  others,  either  residents  of  Lichfield  or  sojourners 
who  had  been  attracted  thither  by  "  its  good  report."  Thus 
established  the  magnates  of  a  provincial  town  sufficiently 
remote  from  London  to  be  beyond  many  of  the  terrors  of  its 
superior  authority,  the  cathedral  critics  of  Lichfield  lived,  and 


12  LIFE   OF   MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

wrote,  and  praised  each  other  for  great  authors,  and  were  we 
may  suppose  as  happy  as  this  belief  could  make  them. 

A  traveller  in  England,  shortly  after  Major  Andre's  death, 
relates  that  being  in  1782  at  Hagley,  the  seat  of  Earl  Fer 
rers  and  the  scene  of  many  of  the  younger  Lyttleton's  ex 
traordinary  exploits,  he  was  assured  by  his  lordship's  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Green,  of  Portugal  House,  Birmingham,  that  at 
the  very  mansion  they  were  then  in  he  had  introduced  the 
unfortunate  Major  Andre  to  Miss  Seward,  afterwards  so  well 
known  for  her  genius,  her  connection  with  Andre,  and  her 
sorrows.  We  may  presume  that  this  introduction  occurred 
in  the  summer  of  1769. 

At  this  time  the  family  of  Mr.  Thomas  Seward  comprised 
not  only  his  wife  and  his  daughter  Anna,  but  also  a  young 
lady,  Miss  Flonora  Sneyd,  a  daughter  of  Edward,  the  young 
est  son  of  Ralph  Sneyd,  Esq.,  of  Bishton,  in  Staffordshire. 
Mrs.  Sneyd  dying  at  an  early  period,  the  daughters  were 
kindly  taken  in  charge  by  her  friends  and  kindred,  and  the 
care  of  Honora  fell  to  the  faithful  hands  of  Mrs.  Seward. 
As  nearer  her  own  age,  a  greater  intimacy  than  with  Anna 
naturally  grew  up  between  the  orphan  and  Miss  Sally  Sew 
ard,  a  younger  sister  ;  but  she  dying  when  Honora  was  thir 
teen,  the  latter  was  left  to  the  immediate  companionship  of 
the  elder  daughter,  from  whom  she  derived  much  of  her 
literary  taste.  In  all  respects,  we  are  told,  Miss  Sneyd  was 
treated  as  one  of  Mrs.  Seward's  family,  and  it  was  impossible 
to  perceive  that  any  discrimination  was  made  by  the  mother 
between  her  own  and  her  adopted  child. 

"  It  was  at  Buxton  or  at  Matlock,"  says  Mr.  Edgeworth, 
"  that  Andre  first  met  Honora  Sneyd."  Matlock  Bath,  about 
two  miles  from  the  straggling  little  village  of  Matlock  in 
Derbyshire,  was  a  favorite  watering-place,  where  a  pleasant 
freedom  of  social  intercourse  is  said  to  have  then  prevailed. 
People  coming  together  for  the  first  time,  and  passing  weeks 
in  the  same  house,  were  content  to  regard  each  other  as 
acquaintances  and  to  have  their  enjoyments  in  common. 


COURTSHIP.  13 

The  spot  itself  is  singularly  picturesque,  lying  on  the 
side  of  the  Masson  Hill,  to  whose  summit  a  path  was  con 
trived  through  groves  of  fir-trees.  On  every  hand,  the  eye 
rests  upon  the  lofty  Tors,  or  hills  of  the  region ;  and  the 
Lovers'  Walk,  by  the  river  Derwent,  was  doubtless  then  as 
it  is  now  chosen  for  many  a  happy  stroll.  Buxton  too  was 
celebrated  for  its  medicinal  wells,  and  was  also  in  the  Peak 
of  Derbyshire.  Mr.  Seward  had  a  living  in  the  Peak, 
whither  in  his  summer  visits  he  was  accompanied  by  his 
daughter,  and  probably  by  others  of  his  household,  —  at  all 
events,  it  was  at  Buxton  that  the  two  families,  from  Lichfield 
and  from  Clapton,  were  together  in  the  summer  of  1769,  and 
it  was  there  that  the  young  merchant  of  Warnford  Court  be 
came  so  irretrievably  enamored  of  a  lady  whose  charms  seem 
by  all  accounts  to  have  been  sufficient  to  subdue  less  suscep 
tible  hearts  than  his  own.  A  mezzotinto  engraving  after 
Romney,  which  was  esteemed  by  her  friends  as  the  perfect, 
though  unintentional  resemblance  of  Honora  Sneyd  at  a 
period  "  when  she  was  surrounded  by  all  her  virgin  glories, 
—  beauty  and  grace,  sensibility  and  goodness,  superior  in 
telligence  and  unswerving  truth,"  —  conveys  an  idea  of 
charms  that  would  justify  the  description  of  her  at  this 
period  by  the  man  who  should  best  be  entitled  to  pronounce 
a  verdict.  "  Her  memory,"  said  her  future  husband,  u  was 
not  copiously  stored  with  poetry ;  and,  though  in  no  way  de 
ficient,  her  knowledge  had  not  been  much  enlarged  by  books  ; 
but  her  sentiments  were  on  all  subjects  so  just,  and  were  de 
livered  with  such  blushing  modesty,  —  though  not  without 
an  air  of  conscious  worth,  —  as  to  command  attention  from 
every  one  capable  of  appreciating  female  excellence.  Her 
person  was  graceful,  her  features  beautiful,  and  their  expres 
sion  such  as  to  heighten  the  eloquence  of  everything  she 
said."  Blue  eyes  and  golden  hair  were  the  inheritance  of 
the  family ;  but  in  her  face  there  would  seem  to  have 
even  now  been  visible  some  hectic  trait  —  some  negative 
symbol  of  that  latent  disorder,  which  at  fifteen  years  had 


14  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

threatened  her  life,  and  by  which  it  was  finally  to  be  con 
cluded. 

Such  being  Honora's  graces,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Andre  was 
as  heartily  and  as  quickly  impressed  by  them  as  many  others 
were  doomed  to  be ;  nor  is  it  strange  that  he  should  speedily 
have  awakened  a  corresponding  sentiment  in  the  fair  one's 
breast.  It  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  his  char 
acter,  that  —  unlike  many  who  are  the  life  and  idol  of  every 
circle  but  their  own,  and  are  charming  everywhere  but  at 
home  —  Andre  was  even  more  prized  by  his  nearest  fam 
iliars  than  by  the  world  without.  The  better  he  was  known, 
the  better  he  was  loved  ;  and  the  endearing  appellation  of 
cher  Jean,  which  was  constantly  bestowed  upon  him  by  his 
family,  soon  found  a  place  on  the  lips  of  his  friends.  A 
glance  at  his  portrait  will  go  far  to  explain  this  secret  of 
inspiring  attachment.  His  features,  as  delicate  in  their  lines 
and  expression  as  those  of  a  woman,  at  once  reveal  a  tender 
ness  and  a  vivacity  that  could  scarcely  belong  to  a  disposi 
tion  not  originally  possessed  of  a  very  considerable  degree 
of  natural  refinement.  To  what  extent  these  characteristics 
were  developed  and  increased  by  cultivation  will  in  time 
appear. 

It  does  not  seem  that  the  lovers  at  Buxton  were  long  in 
coming  to  an  understanding.  Miss  Seward,  both  then  and 
afterwards,  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  affair  and  looked  with 
the  fullest  favor  on  the  suitor.  An  opportunity  was  soon 
afforded  for  him  to  make  his  earliest  essay  at  painting  the 
likeness  of  a  human  face,  and  two  miniatures  of  Miss  Sneyd 
were  the  first  fruits  of  his  pencil.  One  of  these  —  appar 
ently  the  least  perfect  —  he  gave  at  the  time  to  Miss  Seward, 
who  retained  it  through  her  life :  the  other  was,  of  course, 
reserved  by  the  artist  for  his  own  consolation,  although  the 
favorable  reception  which  his  addresses  had  received  on  all 
hands  must  have  given  him  abundant  reason  to  hope  for  the 
ultimate  possession  of  the  beautiful  original.  It  was  not  un 
til  they  had  reflected  on  the  youth  of  both  parties  in  respect 


COURTSHIP.  15 

to  wedlock,  and  the  absence  of  present  means  to  enable  them 
to  be  provided  with  such  a  maintenance  as  they  had  each 
been  brought  up  to  anticipate,  that  the  seniors  looked  coldly 
on  the  affair.  And  even  then,  the  most  that  was  agreed 
upon  by  Mrs.  Andre  and  Mr.  Sneyd,  was  that  since  an  im 
mediate  marriage  was  out  of  the  question,  and  a  long  en 
gagement  between  two  very  young  people,  separated  by  a 
distance  of  a  hundred  miles  and  more,  was  not  desirable,  it 
was  wiser  that  they  should  be  kept  apart  as  much  as  possible, 
trusting  that  time  would  either  wean  them  from  their  attach 
ment,  or  bring  the  means  of  gratifying  it.  On  these  terms 
the  parting  took  place ;  but  it  will  be  seen  that,  as  might 
have  been  expected  under  such  circumstances,  one  if  not 
both  of  the  lovers  regarded  it  as  anything  but  final.  It  even 
seems,  from  the  first  of  the  letters  presently  to  be  given,  that 
Andre  accompanied  Miss  Seward  and  Miss  Sneyd  on  their 
return  to  Lichfield;  and  by  letters  and  by  personal  inter 
views,  an  intercourse  was  kept  up  between  them  for  some 
months  longer. 

It  was  during  the  progress  of  his  courtship  at  Buxton,  that 
Andre  made  known  to  his  Lichfield  friends  his  aversion  to 
commerce,  and  probably  his  desire  for  the  army.  The  rep 
resentations  of  Miss  Seward  that  it  was  so  much  for  his 
interest  in  every  way  to  adhere  steadily  to  his  present  em 
ployment,  and  above  all  that  it  was  the  only  means  by  which 
he  could  procure  the  wealth  necessary  to  secure  his  union 
with  Miss  Sneyd,  prevailed  upon  him  for  a  season  to  stick  to 
the  desk.  "  When  an  impertinent  consciousness,"  he  says, 
"  whispers  in  my  ear,  that  I  am  not  of  the  right  stuff  for  a 
merchant,  I  draw  my  Honora's  picture  from  my  bosom,  and 
the  sight  of  that  dear  talisman  so  inspirits  my  industry,  that 
no  toil  appears  oppressive."  The  reader  may  compare  with 
some  interest  this  confession  with  the  sentiments,  uttered  at 
the  same  period,  of  another  young  occupant  of  a  stool  in  a 
counting-house,  whose  career  was  destined  to  cross  Andre's 
in  the  most  interesting  period  of  his  life.  "I  contemn," 


16  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF.. 

wrote  Alexander  Hamilton,  in  17G9,  "the  grovelling  condi 
tion  of  a  desk,  to  which  ray  fortune  condemns  me,  and  would 
willingly  risk  my  life,  though  not  my  character,  to  exalt  my 
station  ;  I  mean  to  prepare  the  way  for  futurity." 

Before  Andre  parted  from  "  the  dear  Lichfieldians,"  to 
return  to  Clapton  and  his  daily  avocations  in  Throgmorton 
Street,  a  correspondence  appears  to  have  been  arranged  be 
tween  Miss  Seward  and  himself,  the  burden  of  which,  as 
may  well  be  guessed,  was  to  be  Honora.  His  epistles,  which 
sometimes  covered  letters  to  Miss  Sneyd,  were  evidently  de 
signed  to  pass  from  the  hands  of  his  fair  correspondent  to 
those  of  her  adopted  sister  ;  while  in  return  he  should  re 
ceive  every  intelligence  of  the  young  lady's  movements  and 
welfare,  and  occasionally  a  postscript  from  her  own  pen. 
There  was  nothing  clandestine  in  this  arrangement,  little 
indeed  as  it  may  have  accorded  with  the  plans  of  the  parents 
of  the  lovers.  Miss  Sneyd's  conduct  throughout,  seems  to 
have  been  ingenuous  and  discreet ;  while  Andre  availed  him 
self  of  a  fair  and  friendly  means  of  obtaining  that  informa 
tion  which  was  naturally  so  desirable  to  one  in  his  position. 
His  letters  were  often  adorned  with  hasty  pen  or  pencil 
sketches  of  such  objects  of  interest  as  were  germain  to  the 
text,  and  the  specimens  which  follow  give  ample  proof,  as 
Miss  Seward  justly  observes,  of  his  wit  and  vivacity.  "  His 
epistolary  writings,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,  "  so  far  as  specimens 
of  them  have  been  preserved,  show  a  delicacy  of  sentiment, 
a  playfulness  of  imagination,  and  an  ease  of  style,  which 
could  proceed  only  from  native  refinement  and  a  high  degree 
of  culture."  "  The  best  means,  next  to  biography  written  by 
the  person  himself,  of  obtaining  an  insight  into  his  character, 
is  afforded,"  remarks  Maria  Edgeworth,  "  by  his  private  let 
ters."  There  is  sufficient  excuse  in  their  own  contents  for 
here  presenting  those  of  Andre  to  Miss  Seward ;  but  the 
reason  suggested  by  Miss  Edgeworth  affords  an  additional 
motive.  It  will  be  observed  that  he  addresses  the  lady  as 
his  Julia ;  for  no  other  cause  that  can  be  guessed  at  but  that 


LETTERS   TO  MISS    SEWAED.  17 

her  real  name  was  Anna.  But  such  tricks  of  the  pen  were 
then  counted  among  the  delicacies  of  a  sentimental  corre 
spondence  ;  as  is  pleasantly  described  in  L'Amie  Inconnue. 

The  journey  to  Shrewsbury,  alluded  to  below,  was  made 
to  visit  Elizabeth,  Mr.  Sneyd's  fifth  daughter,  who  had  been 
brought  up  by  and  resided  with  her  relatives,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Henry  Powys  of  the  Abbey.  The  letters  themselves  were 
first  printed  in  connection  with  Miss  Seward's  Monody  upon 
their  writer. 

MR.    ANDRE    TO    MISS    SEWARD. 

CLAPTON,  Oct.  3, 1769. 

From  their  agreeable  excursion  to  Shrewsbury,  my  dear 
est  friends  are  by  this  time  returned  to  their  beloved  Lich- 
field.  Once  again  have  they  beheld  those  fortunate  spires, 
the  constant  witnesses  of  all  their  pains  and  pleasures.  I 
can  well  conceive  the  emotions  of  joy  which  their  first  ap 
pearance,  from  the  neighboring  hills,  excites  after  absence ; 
they  seem  to  welcome  you  home,  and  invite  you  to  reiterate 
those  hours  of  happiness,  of  which  they  are  a  species  of 
monument.  I  shall  have  an  eternal  love  and  reverence  for 
them.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  joy  that  danced  in  Honora's 
eyes,  when  she  first  shewed  them  to  me  from  Needwood  For 
est,  on  our  return  with  you  from  Buxton  to  Lichfield.  I  re 
member  she  called  them  the  ladies  of  the  valley,  —  their  light 
ness  and  elegance  deserve  the  title.  Oh  !  how  I  loved  them 
from  that  instant !  My  enthusiasm  concerning  them  is  carried 
farther  even  than  your's  and  Honora's,  for  every  object  that 
has  a  pyramidical  form,  recalls  them  to  my  recollection,  with 
a  sensation  that  brings  the  tear  of  pleasure  into  my  eyes. 

How  happy  you  must  have  been  at  Shrewsbury!  only 
that  you  tell  me,  alas !  that  dear  Honora  was  not  so  well  as 
you  wished  during  your  stay  there.  —  I  always  hope  the  best. 
My  impatient  spirit  rejects  every  obtruding  idea,  which  I 
have  not  fortitude  to  support.  —  Dr.  Darwin's  skill,  and  your 


18  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDEF.. 

tender  care,  will  remove  that  sad  pain  in  her  side,  which 
makes  writing  troublesome  and  injurious  to  her ;  which  robs 
her  poor  Cher  Jean  of  those  precious  pages,  with  which,  he 
flatters  himself,  she  would  otherwise  have  indulged  him. 

So  your  happiness  at  Shrewsbury  scorned  to  be  indebted 
to  public  amusements  ?  Five  Virgins  —  united  in  the  soft 
bonds  of  friendship !  How  I  should  have  liked  to  have  made 
the  sixth  !  —  But  you  surprise  me  by  such  an  absolute  exclu 
sion  of  the  Beaux  :  —  I  certainly  thought  that  when  five 
wise  virgins  were  watching  at  midnight  it  must  have  been  in 
expectation  of  the  bridegroom's  coming. 

We  are  at  this  instant  five  virgins,  writing  round  the  same 
table  —  my  three  sisters,  Mr.  Ewer,  and  myself.  I  beg  no 
reflections  injurious  to  the  honor  of  poor  Cher  Jean.  My 
mother  is  gone  to  pay  a  visit,  and  has  left  us  in  possession 
of  the  old  coach  ;  but  as  for  nags,  we  can  boast  of  only  two 
long-tails,  and  my  sisters  say  they  are  sorry  cattle,  being  no 
other  than  my  friend  Ewer  arid  myself,  who,  to  say  truth, 
have  enormous  pig-tails. 

My  dear  Boissier  is  come  to  town  ;  he  has  brought  a  little 
of  the  soldier  with  him,  but  he  is  the  same  honest,  warm,  in 
telligent  friend  I  always  found  him.  He  sacrifices  the  town 
diversions,  since  I  will  not  partake  of  them. 

We  are  jealous  of  your  correspondents,  who  are  so  nu 
merous.  —  Yet,  write  to  the  Andres  often,  my  dear  Julia, 
for  who  are  they  that  will  value  your  letters  quite  so  much 
as  we  value  them  ?  —  The  least  scrap  of  a  letter  will  be 
received  with  the  greatest  joy ;  write,  therefore,  tho'  it  were 
only  to  give  us  the  comfort  of  having  a  piece  of  paper 
which  has  recently  passed  thro'  your  hands ;  —  Honora  will 
put  in  a  little  postscript,  were  it  only  to  tell  me  that  she 
is  my  very  sincere  friend,  who  will  neither  give  me  love 
nor  comfort —  very  short  indeed,  Honora,  was  thy  last  post 
script  !  —  But  I  am  too  presumptuous  ;  —  I  will  not  scratch 
out,  but  I  ?msay  —  from  the  little  there  was  I  received 
more  joy  than  I  deserve.  —  This  Cher  Jean  is  an  imper- 


LETTERS   TO  MISS   SEWARD.  19 

tinent  fellow,  but  he  will  grow  discreet  in  time ;  —  you 
must  consider  him  as  a  poor  novice  of  eighteen,  who  for  all 
the  sins  he  may  commit  is  sufficiently  punished  in  the  single 
evil  of  being  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Lichfield. 

My  mother  and  sisters  will  go  to  Putney  in  a  few  days  to 
stay  some  time  ;  —  we  none  of  us  like  Clapton  :  —  1  need 
not  care,  for  I  am  all  day  long  in  town  ;  but  it  is  avoiding 
Scylla  to  fall  into  Charybdis.  You  paint  to  me  the  pleasant 
vale  of  Stow  in  the  richest  autumnal  coloring.  In  return,  I 
must  tell  you  that  my  zephyrs  are  wafted  through  cracks  in 
the  wainscot ;  for  murmuring  streams,  I  have  dirty  kennels  ; 
for  bleating  flocks,  grunting  pigs  ;  and  squalling  cats  for  birds 
that  incessantly  warble.  I  have  said  something  of  this  sort 
in  my  letter  to  Miss  Spearman,  and  am  twinged  with  the 
idea  of  these  letters  being  confronted,  and  that  I  shall  recall 
to  your  memory  the  fat  Knight's  love-letters  to  Mrs.  Ford 
and  Mrs.  Page. 

Julia,  perhaps  thou  fanciest  I  am  merry.  Alas !  But  I 
do  not  wish  to  make  you  as  doleful  as  myself;  and  besides, 
when  I  would  express  the  tender  feelings  of  my  soul,  I  have 
no  language  which  does  them  any  justice ;  if  I  had,  I  should 
regret  that  you  could  not  have  it  fresher,  and  that  whatever 
one  communicates  by  letter  must  go  such  a  roundabout  way, 
before  it  reaches  one's  correspondent :  from  the  writer's  heart 
through  his  head,  arm,  hand,  pen,  ink,  paper,  over  many  a 
weary  hill  and  dale,  to  the  eye,  head,  and  heart  of  the  reader. 
I  have  often  regretted  our  not  possessing  a  sort  of  faculty 
which  should  enable  our  sensations,  remarks,  &c.,  to  arise 
from  their  source  in  a  sort  of  exhalation,  and  fall  upon  our 
paper  in  words  and  phrases  properly  adapted  to  express 
them,  without  passing  through  an  imagination  whose  opera 
tions  so  often  fail  to  second  those  of  the  heart.  Then  what 
a  metamorphose  we  should  see  in.  people's  style  !  How  elo 
quent  those  who  are  truly  attached  !  how  stupid  they  who 
falsely  profess  affection  !  Perhaps  the  former  had  never  been 
able  to  express  half  their  regard  ;  while  the  latter,  by  their 


20  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANPRF,. 

flowers  of  rhetoric,  had  made  us  believe  a  thousand  times 
more  than  they  ever  felt — but  this  is  whimsical  moralizing. 

My  sisters'  Penserosos  were  dispersed  on  their  arrival  in 
town,  by  the  joy  of  seeing  Louisa  and  their  dear  little 
Brother  Billy  again,  our  kind  and  excellent  Uncle  Girardot, 
and  Uncle  Lewis  Andre.  I  was  glad  to  see  them,  but  they 
complained,  not  without  reason,  of  the  gloom  upon  my  coun 
tenance.  Billy  wept  for  joy  that  we  were  returned,  while 
poor  Cher  Jean  was  ready  to  weep  for  sorrow.  Louisa  is 
grown  still  handsomer  since  we  left  her.  Our  sisters  Mary 
and  Anne,  knowing  your  partiality  to  beauty,  are  afraid  that 
when  they  shall  introduce  her  to  you,  she  will  put  their  noses 
out  of  joint.  Billy  is  not  old  enough  for  me  to  be  afraid  of 
in  the  rival-way,  else  I  should  keep  him  aloof,  for  his  heart 
is  formed  of  those  affectionate  materials,  so  dear  to  the  ingen 
uous  taste  of  Julia  and  her  Honora. 

I  sympathize  in  your  resentment  against  the  canonical 
Dons,  who  stumpify  the  heads  of  those  good  green  people, 
beneath  whose  friendly  shade  so  many  of  your  happiest 
hours  have  glided  away,  —  but  they  defy  them  ;  let  them 
stumpify  as  much  as  they  please,  time  will  repair  the  mis 
chief,  —  their  verdant  arms  will  again  extend,  and  invite  you 
to  their  shelter. 

The  evenings  grow  long.  I  hope  your  conversation  round 
the  fire  will  sometimes  fall  on  the  Andres  ;  it  will  be  a  great 
comfort  to  them  that  they  are  remembered.  We  chink  our 
glasses  to  your  healths  at  every  meal.  "  Here's  to  our 
Lichfieldian  friends,"  says  Nanny  ;  —  "  Oh-h,"  says  Mary  ; 

—  '•  With  all  my  soul,"  say  I ;  —  "  Allons,"  cries  my  mother  ; 

—  and  the  draught  seems  nectar.     The   libation  made,  we 
begin   our  uncloying  themes,   and    so    beguile    the    gloomy 
evening. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seward  will  accept  my  most  affectionate 
respects.  My  male  friend  at  Lichfield  will  join  in  your 
conversation  on  the  Andres.  Among  the  numerous  good 
qualities  he  is  possessed  of,  he  certainly  has  gratitude,  and 


LETTERS   TO  MISS   SEWARD.  21 

then  he  cannot  forget  those  who  so  sincerely  love  and  esteem 
him.  I,  in  particular,  shall  always  recall  with  pleasure  the 
happy  hours  I  have  passed  in  his  company.  My  friendship 
for  him,  and  for  your  family,  has  diffused  itself,  like  the  pre 
cious  ointment  from  Aaron's  beard,  on  every  thing  which  sur 
rounds  you,  therefore  I  beg  that  you  would  give  my  amities 
to  the  whole  town.  Persuade  Honora  to  forgive  the  length 
and  ardor  of  the  enclosed,  and  believe  me  truly  your  affec 
tionate  and  faithful  friend,  J.  ANDRE. 

Mr.  Peter  Boissier,  of  the  llth  Dragoons,  and  Mr.  Wal 
ter  Ewer,  Jr.,  of  Dyer's  Court,  Aldermanbury,  (a  son,  it  is 
said,  of  William  Ewer,  Esq.,  in  1778  a  director  of  the  Bank 
of  England,)  who  are  mentioned  in  the  preceding  letter, 
were  valued  friends  of  Andre's,  and  are  affectionately  re 
membered  in  his  will. 


MR.    ANDRE    TO    MISS    SEWARD. 

LONDON,  Oct.  19, 1769. 

From  the  midst  of  books,  papers,  bills,  and  other  imple 
ments  of  gain,  let  me  lift  up  my  drowsy  head  awhile  to 
converse  with  dear  Julia.  And  first,  as  I  know  she  has  a 
fervent  wish  to  see  me  a  quill-driver,  I  must  tell  her,  that  I 
begin,  as  people  are  wont  to  do,  to  look  upon  my  future 
profession  with  great  partiality.  I  no  longer  see  it  in  so 
disadvantageous  a  light.  Instead  of  figuring  a  merchant  as 
a  middle-aged  man,  with  a  bob-wig,  a  rough  beard,  in  snuff- 
colored  clothes,  grasping  a  guinea  in  his  red  hand,  I  con 
ceive  a  comely  young  man,  with  a  tolerable  pig-tail,  wielding 
a  pen  with  all  the  noble  fierceness  of  the  Duke  of  Marlbor- 
ough  brandishing  a  truncheon  upon  a  sign-post,  surrounded 
with  types  and  emblems,  and  canopied  with  cornucopias  that 
disembogue  their  stores  upon  his  head ;  Mercuries  reclined 
upon  bales  of  goods  ;  Genii  playing  with  pens,  ink,  and  pa 
per  ;  while,  in  perspective,  his  gorgeous  vessels,  "  launched  on 


22  LIFE  OF  MAJOR   AXDRE. 

the  bosom  of  the  silver  Thames,"  are  wafting  to  distant  lands 
the  produce  of  this  commercial  nation.  Thus  all  the  mercan 
tile  glories  croud  on  my  fancy,  emblazoned  in  the  most  reful 
gent  colouring  of  an  ardent  imagination.  Borne  on  her  soar 
ing  pinions  I  wing  my  flight  to  the  time  when  Heaven  shall 
have  crowned  my  labors  with  success  and  opulence.  I  see 
sumptuous  palaces  rising  to  receive  me  ;  I  see  orphans  and 
widows,  and  painters,  and  fiddlers,  and  poets,  and  builders, 
protected  and  encouraged  ;  and  when  the  fabric  is  pretty 
nearly  finished  by  my  shattered  pericranium,  I  cast  my  eyes 
around,  and  find  John  Andre,  by  a  small  coal-fire,  in  a 
gloomy  compting-house  in  Warnford  Court,  nothing  so  little 
as  what  he  has  been  making  himself,  and,  in  all  probability, 
never  to  be  much  more  than  he  is  at  present.  But  oh  !  my 
dear  Honora  !  —  it  is  for  thy  sake  only  I  wish  for  wealth.  — 
You  say  she  was  somewhat  better  at  the  time  you  wrote  last. 
I  must  flatter  myself  that  she  will  soon  be  without  any  re 
mains  of  this  threatening  disease. 

It  is  seven  o'clock :  you  and  Honora,  with  two  or  three 
more  select  friends,  are  now  probably  encircling  your  dress 
ing-room  fireplace.  What  would  I  not  give  to  enlarge  that 
circle !  The  idea  of  a  clean  hearth,  and  a  snug  circle  round 
it,  formed  by  a  few  select  friends,  transports  me.  You  seem 
combined  together  against  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
the  hurry,  bustle,  ceremony,  censoriousness,  and  envy  of  the 
world.  The  purity,  the  warmth,  the  kindly  influence  of  fire 
—  to  all  for  whom  it  is  kindled  —  is  a  good  emblem  of  the 
friendship  of  such  amiable  minds  as  Julia's  and  her  Honora's. 
Since  I  cannot  be  there  in  reality,  pray  imagine  me  with 
you  ;  admit  me  to  your  conversationes,  —  think  how  I  wish 
for  the  blessing  of  joining  them  !  and  be  persuaded  that  I 
take  part  in  all  your  pleasures,  in  the  dear  hope,  that  ere 
very  long,  your  blazing  hearth  will  burn  again  for  me.  Pray 
keep  me  a  place ;  —  let  the  poker,  tongs,  or  shovel,  repre 
sent  me.  But  you  have  Dutch  tiles,  which  are  infinitely 
better ;  so  let  Moses,  or  Aaron,  or  Balaam's  ass  be  my 
representative. 


LETTERS  TO  MISS   SEWARD.  23 

But  time  calls  me  to  Clapton.  I  quit  you  abruptly  till 
to-morrow,  when,  if  I  do  not  tear  the  nonsense  I  have  been 
writing,  I  may  perhaps  increase  its  quantity.  Signora  Cyn 
thia  is  in  clouded  majesty.  Silvered  with  her  beams,  I  am 
about  to  jog  to  Clapton  upon  my  own  stumps ;  musing  as  I 
homeward  plod  my  way  —  ah  !  need  I  name  the  subject  of 
my  contemplations  ? 

Thursday. 

I  had  a  sweet  walk  home  last  night,  and  found  the  Clap- 
tonians,  with  their  fair  guest,  a  Miss  Mourgue,  very  well. 
My  sisters  send  their  amities,  and  will  write  in  a  few  days. 

This  morning  I  returned  to  town.  It  has  been  the  finest 
day  imaginable ;  a  solemn  mildness  was  diffused  throughout 
the  blue  horizon ;  its  light  was  clear  and  distinct,  rather  than 
dazzling ;  —  the  serene  beams  of  the  autumnal  sun,  gilded 
hills,  variegated  woods,  glittering  spires,  ruminating  herds, 
bounding  flocks,  —  all  combined  to  enchant  the  eyes,  expand 
the  heart,  and  "  chase  all  sorrow  but  despair."  In  the  midst 
of  such  a  scene,  no  lesser  sorrow  can  prevent  our  sympathy 
with  nature.  A  calmness,  a  benevolent  disposition  seizes  us 
with  sweet  insinuating  power ;  the  very  brute  creation  seem 
sensible  of  these  beauties  ;  there  is  a  species  of  mild  chear- 
fulness  in  the  face  of  a  lamb,  which  I  have  but  indifferently 
expressed  in  a  corner  of  my  paper,  and  a  demure,  contented 
look  in  an  ox,  which,  in  the  fear  of  expressing  still  worse,  I 
leave  unattempted. 

Business  calls  me  away.  I  must  dispatch  my  letter.  Yet 
what  does  it  contain  ?  —  No  matter.  You  like  anything  bet 
ter  than  news ;  —  indeed,  you  never  told  me  so,  but  I  have 
an  intuitive  knowledge  upon  the  subject,  from  the  sympathy 
which  I  have  constantly  perceived  in  the  taste  of  Julia  and 
cher  Jean.  What  is  it  to  you  or  me  — 

If  here  in  the  city  we  have  nothing  but  riot, 
If  the  Spital-field  Weavers  can't  be  kept  quiet; 
If  the  weather  is  fine,  or  the  streets  should  be  dirty, 
Or  if  Mr.  Dick  Wilson  died  aged  of  thirty  ? 


24  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDK& 

—  But  if  I  was  to  hearken  to  the  versifying  grumbling  I  feel 
within  me,  I  should  fill  my  paper,  and  not  have  room  left 
to  entreat  that  you  would  plead  my  cause  to  Honora  more 
eloquently  than  the  enclosed  letter  has  the  power  of  doing. 
Apropos  of  verses,  you  desire  ine  to  recollect  my  random  de 
scription  of  the  engaging  appearance  of  the  charming  Mrs. 
.  Here  it  is  at  your  service  :  — 

Then  rustling  and  bustling  the  lady  comes  down, 
With  a  flaming  red  face,  and  a  broad  yellow  gown, 
And  a  hobbling  out-of-breath  gait,  and  a  frown. 

This  little  French  cousin  of  ours,  Delarise,  was  my  sister 
Mary's  playfellow  at  Paris.  His  sprightliness  engages  my 
sisters  extremely.  Doubtless  they  tell  much  of  him  to  you 
in  their  letters. 

How  sorry  I  am  to  bid  you  adieu  !  Oh,  let  me  not  be  for 
got  by  the  friends  most  dear  to  you  at  Lichfield  !  —  Lic/t- 
jield!  Ah,  of  what  magic  letters  is  that  little  word  composed  ! 
How  graceful  it  looks  when  it  is  written  !  Let  nobody  talk 
to  me  of  its  original  meaning,  "  the  field  of  blood ! "  Oh, 
no  such  thing  !  —  It  is  the  field  of  joy  !  "  The  beautiful  city 
that  lifts  her  fair  head  in  the  valley,  and  says,  I  am,  and 
there  is  none  beside  me  !  "  Who  says  she  is  vain  ?  Julia 
will  not  say  so,  nor  yet  Honora,  and  least  of  all  their  de 
voted  JOHN  ANDRE. 

In  reference  to  the  allusion  in  the  last  paragraph  of  this 
letter,  Miss  Seward  very  learnedly  explained,  that  Lichfield 
does  not  signify  "  the  field  of  blood,"  but  "  the  field  of  dead 
bodies."  The  error  is  of  little  importance.  Between  the 
dates  of  this  and  the  next  epistle,  he  had  visited  Lichfield, 
and  once  again  beheld  the  face  of  his  lady-love. 


MR.    ANDRE    TO    MISS    SEWARD. 

CLAPTON,  November  1, 1769. 
MY  ears  still  ring   with  the  sounds  of   •'  Oh,  Jack  !  Oh, 


LETTERS   TO  MISS   SEWARD.  25 

/ 

Jack !  How  do  the  dear  Lichfieldians  ?  What  do  they  say  ? 
What  are  they  about?  What  did  you  do  while  you  were 
with  them  ?  "  "  Have  patience,"  said  I,  "  good  people  !  "  — 
and  began  ray  story,  which  they  devoured  with  as  much  joy 
ful  avidity  as  Adam  did  Gabriel's  tidings  of  Heaven.  My 
mother  and  sisters  are  all  very  well,  and  delighted  with  their 
little  Frenchman,  who  is  a  very  agreeable  lad. 

Surely  you  applaud  the  fortitude  with  which  I  left  you  ! 
Did  I  not  come  off  with  flying  colors  ?  It  was  a  great  effort ; 
for,  alas  !  this  recreant  heart  did  not  second  the  smiling  cour 
age  of  the  countenance  ;  nor  is  it  yet  as  it  ought  to  be,  from 
the  hopes  it  may  reasonably  entertain  of  seeing  you  all  again 
ere  the  winter's  dreary  hours  are  past.  Julia,  my  dear  Julia, 
gild  them  with  tidings  of  my  beloved  Honora  !  Oh  that  you 
may  be  enabled  to  tell  me  that  she  regains  her  health,  and 
her  charming  vivacity !  Your  sympathizing  heart  partakes 
all  the  joys  and  pains  of  your  friends.  Never  can  I  forget 
its  kind  offices,  which  were  of  such  moment  to  my  peace. 
Mine  is  formed  for  friendship,  and  I  am  blessed  in  being  able 
to  place  so  well  the  purest  passion  of  an  ingenuous  mind. 
How  am  I  honoured  in  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seward's  attachment  to 
me  !  Charming  were  the  anticipations  which  beguiled  the 
long  tracts  of  hill,  and  dale,  and  plain,  that  divide  London 
from  Lichfield!  With  what  delight  my  eager  eyes  drank 
their  first  view  of  the  spires  !  What  rapture  did  I  not  feel 
on  entering  your  gates  !  —  in  flying  up  the  hall-steps  !  —  in 
rushing  into  the  dining-room !  —  in  meeting  the  gladdened 
eyes  of  dear  Julia  and  her  enchanting  friend !  That  instant 
convinced  me  of  the  truth  of  Rousseau's  observation,  *'  that 
there  are  moments  worth  ages."  Shall  not  these  moments 
return  ?  Ah,  Julia !  the  cold  hand  of  absence  is  heavy  upon 
the  heart  of  your  poor  Cher  Jean  !  —  he  is  forced  to  hammer 
into  it  perpetually  every  consoling  argument  that  the  magic 
wand  of  Hope  can  conjure  up ;  viz.,  that  every  moment  of 
industrious  absence  advances  his  journey,  you  know  whither. 
I  may  sometimes  make  excursions  to  Lichfield,  and  bask  in 


26  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

the  light  of  my  Honora's  eyes.  Sustain  me,  Hope  !  nothing 
on  my  part  shall  be  wanting  which  shall  induce  thee  to  fulfill 
thy  blossoming  promises. 

The  happy,  social  circle  —  Julia,  Honora,  Miss  S n, 

Miss  B n,  her  brother,  Miss  S e,  Mr.  R 11,  &c. 

—  are  now,  perhaps,  enlivening  your  dressing-room,  the  dear 
blue  region,  as  Honora  calls  it,  with  the  sensible  observation, 
the  tasteful  criticism,  or  the  elegant  song ;  dreading  the  iron 
tongue  of  the  nine  o'clock  bell,  which  disperses  the  beings 
whom  friendship  and  kindred  virtues  had  drawn  together. 
My  imagination  attaches  itself  to  all,  even  the  inanimate 
objects  which  surround  Honora  and  her  Julia,  that  have  be 
held  their  graces  and  virtues  expand  and  ripen  ;  —  my  dear 
Honora's,  from  their  infant  bud. 

The  sleepy  Claptonian  train  are  gone  to  bed,  somewhat 
wearied  with  their  excursion  to  Enfield,  whither  they  have 
this  day  carried  their  favourite  little  Frenchman,  —  so  great  a 
favourite,  the  parting  was  quite  tragical.  I  walked  hither  from 
town,  as  usual,  to-night.  No  hour  of  the  twenty-four  is  so 
precious  to  me  as  that  devoted  to  this  solitary  walk.  Oh,  my 
friend,  I  am  far  from  possessing  the  patient  frame  of  mind  I 
so  continually  invoke.  Why  is  Lichfield  an  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  from  me  ?  There  is  no  moderation  in  the  dis 
tance.  Fifty  or  sixty  miles  had  been  a  great  deal  too  much ; 
but  then,  there  would  have  been  less  opposition  from  author 
ity  to  my  frequent  visits.  I  conjure  you,  supply  the  want  of 
these  blessings  by  frequent  letters.  I  must  not,  will  not,  ask 
them  of  Honora,  since  the  use  of  the  pen  is  forbid  to  her 
declining  health  ;  I  will  content  myself,  as  usual,  with  a  post 
script  from  her  in  your  epistles.  My  sisters  are  charmed 
with  the  packet  which  arrived  yesterday,  and  which  they 
will  answer  soon. 

As  yet  I  have  said  nothing  of  our  journey.  We  met  an 
entertaining  Irish  gentleman  at  Dunchurch,  and,  being  fel 
low-sufferers  in  cold  and  hunger,  joined  interests,  ordered 
four  horses,  and  stuffed  three  in  a  chaise.  It  is  not  to  you  I 


LETTERS   TO  MISS   SEWARD.  27 

need  apologize  for  talking  in  raptures  of  an  higler,  whom  we 
met  on  the  road.  His  cart  had  passed  us,  and  was  at  a  con 
siderable  distance,  when,  looking  back,  he  perceived  that  our 
chaise  had  stopped,  and  that  the  driver  seemed  mending  some 
thing.  He  ran  up  to  him,  and,  with  a  face  full  of  honest 
anxiety,  pity,  good-nature,  and  every  sweet  affection  under 
heaven,  asked  him  if  we  wanted  anything :  that  he  had 
plenty  of  nails,  ropes,  &c.  in  his  cart.  That  wretch  of  a 
postilion  made  no  other  reply  than,  "  We  want  nothing,  mas 
ter."  From  the  same  impulse,  the  good  Irishman,  Mr.  Till, 
and  myself  thrust  our  heads  instantly  out  of  the  chaise,  and 
tried  to  recompense  the  honest  creature  for  this  surly  reply 
by  every  kind  and  grateful  acknowledgment,  and  by  forcing 
upon  him  a  little  pecuniary  tribute.  My  benevolence  will 
be  the  warmer  while  I  live,  for  the  treasured  remembrance 
of  this  higler's  countenance. 

I  know  you  will  interest  yourself  in  my  destiny.  I  have 
now  completely  subdued  my  aversion  to  the  profession  of  a 
merchant,  and  hope  in  time  to  acquire  an  inclination  for 
it.  Yet  God  forbid  I  should  ever  love  what  I  am  to  make 
the  object  of  my  attention !  —  that  vile  trash,  which  I  care 
not  for,  but  only  as  it  may  be  the  future  means  of  procuring 
the  blessing  of  my  soul.  Thus  all  my  mercantile  calcula 
tions  go  to  the  tune  of  dear  Honora.  When  an  impertinent 
consciousness  whispers  in  my  ear,  that  I  am  not  of  the  right 
stuff  for  a  merchant,  I  draw  my  Honora's  picture  from  my 
bosom,  and  the  sight  of  that  dear  talisman  so  inspirits  my 
industry,  that  no  toil  appears  oppressive. 

The  poetic  task  you  set  me  is  in  a  sad  method :  my  head 
and  heart  are  too  full  of  other  matters  to  be  engrossed  by  a 
draggle-tail'd  wench  of  the  Heliconian  puddle. 

I  am  going  to  try  my  interest  in  parliament.  —  How  you 
stare  !  —  it  is  to  procure  a  frank.  Be  so  good  as  to  give  the 
enclosed  to  Honora,  —  it  will  speak  to  her  ;  —  and  do  you  say 
everything  that  is  kind  for  me  to  every  other  distinguished 
friend  of  the  dressing-room  circle ;  encourage  them  in  their 


28  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

obliging  desire  of  scribbling  in  your  letters,  but  do  not  let 
them  take  Honora's  corner  of  the  sheet. 

Adieu !  May  you  all  possess  that  cheerfulness  denied  to 
your  Cher  Jean.  I  fear  it  hurts  my  mother  to  see  my  musing 
moods  ;  but  I  can  neither  help  nor  overcome  them.  The 
near  hopes  of  another  excursion  to  Lichfield  could  alone  dis 
perse  every  gloomy  vapor  of  my  imagination. 

Again,  and  yet  again,  Adieu  !  J.  ANDRE. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Failure   of  Andrews   Courtship.  —  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth.  —  Thomas 
Day.  —  Marriage  and  Death  of  Miss  Sneyd. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  his  ardor,  and  the  presence  of  so 
powerful  a  friend  at  court  as  he  must  have  had  in  Miss 
Seward,  Andre's  suit  did  not  prosper.  There  is  a  saying, 
that  in  all  love  affairs  there  are  two  parties  —  the  one  who 
loves,  and  the  one  who  is  loved ;  and  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  very  long  before  Miss  Sneyd  came  into  the  latter 
category.  Separation,  and  consideration  of  the  delay  that 
must  necessarily  attend  that  acquirement  of  fortune  upon 
which  permission  for  Andre  to  renew  his  addresses  de 
pended,  must  doubtless  have  done  much  to  cool  her  feel 
ings,  even  had  they  originally  been  as  warm  as  his  own. 
This  is  at  least  the  view  taken  by  her  friend,  who  at  the 
same  time  commemorates  the  fidelity  of  the  opposite  party : 

"  Now  Prudence,  in  her  cold  and  thrifty  care, 
Frown'd  on  the  maid,  and  bade  the  youth  despair; 
For  power  parental  sternly  saw,  and  strove 
To  tear  the  lily  bands  of  plighted  love ; 
Xor  strove  hi  vain ;  —  but,  while  the  fair  one's  sighs 
Disperse  like  April-storms  hi  sunny  skies, 
The  firmer  lover,  with  unswerving  truth, 
To  his  first  passion  consecrates  his  youth." 

The  lady's  feelings,  in  short,  cooled  down  so  sufficiently,  that 
there  soon  came  to  be  no  reason  why  she  should  not  ic- 
ceive  the  addresses  of  other  suitors.  In  1770,  Mr.  Richard 
Lovell  Edgeworth  was  paying  a  Christmas  visit  to  Lichtield, 
and  thus  mentions  the  impression  he  received  of  the  state  of 
affairs  between  Andre  and  Miss  Sneyd  :  it  being  then  about 
eighteen  months  since  their  first  meeting  at  Buxton,  and  but 


30  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

little  over  a  year  from  the  date  of  the  letters  that  closed  the 
last  chapter  :  — 

"  Whilst  I  was  upon  this  visit,  Mr.  Andre,  afterwards 
Major  Andre,  who  lost  his  life  so  unfortunately  in  Amer 
ica,  came  to  Lichfield The  first  time  I  saw  Major 

Andre  at  the  palace,  I  did  not  perceive  from  his  manner, 
or  from  that  of  the  young  lady,  that  any  attachment  sub 
sisted  between  them.  On  the  contrary,  from  the  great  atten 
tion  which  Miss  Seward  paid  to  him,  and  from  the  constant 
admiration  which  Mr.  Andre  bestowed  upon  her,  I  thought 
that,  though  there  was  a  considerable  disproportion  in  their 
ages,  there  might  exist  some  courtship  between  them.  Miss 
Seward,  however,  undeceived  me.  I  never  met  Mr.  Andre 
again ;  and  from  all  that  I  then  saw,  or  have  since  known, 
I  believe  that  Miss  Honora  Sneyd  was  never  much  disap 
pointed  by  the  conclusion  of  this  attachment.  Mr.  Andre 
appeared  to  me  to  be  pleased  and  dazzled  by  the  lady.  She 
admired  and  estimated  highly  his  talents  ;  but  he  did  not 
possess  the  reasoning  mind  which  she  required." 

Mr.  Edgeworth  had  undoubtedly  what  many  will  reckon  a 
good  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  lady's  sentiments  on 
this  subject ;  for  Honora  Sneyd  eventually  became  his  wife. 
Whether,  however,  a  woman  always  lays  bare  the  secrets  of  her 
youthful  breast  to  the  man  whom  she  marries,  even  though 
he  possesses  "  a  reasoning  mind,"  is  another  question.  To  be 
sure,  having  himself  entered  four  times  into  the  state  of  wed 
lock,  Mr.  Edgeworth  had  unusual  means  of  coming  to  a  con 
clusion  upon  this  point ;  but  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
a  more  than  common  impression  might  not  have  been  made 
on  Miss  Sneyd's  heart  by  the  attractions  of  such  a  person  as 
her  disappointed  lover.  Even  while  acknowledging  the  ex 
pediency  of  the  course  prescribed  by  the  heads  of  both  fam 
ilies,  and  yielding  to  their  authority,  she  must  have  been 
sensible  of  the  value  of  the  qualities  she  was  compelled  to 
forego.  From  Mr.  Edgeworth's  own  words  it  may  be  in 
ferred,  that  at  this  period  she  had  formed  a  high,  not  to  say  a 


RICHARD  LOVELL  EDGEWORTH.  31 

romantic  estimate  of  what  was  to  be  looked  for  in  the  man 
whom  she  should  wed.  When  he  left  her  in  1771,  with  a  view 
of  going  abroad,  he  says  :  "  In  various  incidental  conversations, 
I  endeavored  to  convince  her,  that  young  women  who  had 
not  large  fortunes  should  not  disdain  to  marry,  even  though 
the  romantic  notions  of  finding  heroes,  or  prodigies  of  men, 
might  not  be  entirely  gratified.  Honora  listened,  and  as 
sented."  These  remarks  of  Mr.  Edgeworth  concerning 
Major  Andre  are  entitled  to  considerable  weight ;  not  alone 
because  of  the  well-known  character  for  probity  and  discern 
ment  of  the  writer  and  of  his  more  distinguished  daughter, 
by  whom  the  Memoirs  were  completed  and  edited,  but  also 
from  the  fact  that  they  were  given  to  the  world  while  yet  a 
sister  of  Andre  wras  living  arid  in  England :  from  whom,  or 
rather  from  whose  circle  of  friends,  any  misstatement  on  this 
head  might  have  met  a  ready  correction.* 

Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth,  who  ultimately  became  Miss 
Sneyd's  successful  wooer,  is  happily  hit  off,  as  he  appeared  in 
1813,  by  Lord  Byron.  "I  thought  Edgeworth  a  fine  old 
fellow,  of  a  clarety,  elderly,  red  complexion,  but  active,  brisk, 
and  endless.  He  was  seventy,  but  did  not  look  fifty  —  no, 
nor  forty-eight  even."  When  he  first  met  Honora,  however, 
he  was  but  of  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  years,  though  already 
a  man  of  some  note.  He  had  married  on  slender  means, 
while  his  father  yet  lived ;  and  had  married  unhappily. 
"  My  wife,  prudent,  domestic,  and  affectionate  ;  but  she  was 
not  of  a  cheerful  temper.  She  lamented  about  trifles  ;  and 
the  lamenting  of  a  female  with  whom  we  live  does  not  ren 
der  home  delightful."  He  was,  too,  what  may  be  called  no 
tional;  and,  charmed  with  the  theories  of  Rousseau,  must 
needs  bring  up  his  son  after  the  manner  of  Eniile,  with  bare 
feet  and  arms,  and  to  a  sturdy  independence.  While  this 
connection  subsisted,  his  visits  to  his  friend  Mr.  Day  brought 

*  The  clear  handwriting  of  Maria  Edgeworth  across  the  title-page  of  a 
presentation  copy  of  the  Memoirs,  gives  additional  value  and  authenticity 
to  the  volume  from  which  I  quote. 


32  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDEF,. 

him  into  constant  intercourse  with  Miss  Sneyd  ;  "  when," 
says  lie,  —  "for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw  a  woman  that 
equalled  the  picture  of  perfection  which  existed  in  my  imag 
ination.  I  had  long  suffered  from  the  want  of  that  cheerful 
ness  in  a  wife,  without  which  marriage  could  nyt  be  agreeable 
to  a  man  of  such  a  temper  as  mine.  I  had  borne  this  evil,  I 
believe,  with  patience ;  but  my  not  being  happy  at  home  ex 
posed  me  to  the  danger  of  being  too  happy  elsewhere.  The 
charms  and  superior  character  of  Miss  Honora  Sneyd  made 
an  impression  on  my  mind,  such  as  I  had  never  felt  before." 
Other  gentlemen,  whom  he  names,  intimate  at  the  palace, 
were  unanimous  in  their  approbation  of  this  lady  ;  all  but 
Mr.  Day. 

Thomas  Day,  the  eccentric,  benevolent,  unpractical  author 
of  Sandford  and  Merton,  (once  the  delight  of  all  the  school 
boy-world,)  was  now  residing  close  to  Lichfield.  Notwith 
standing  his  peculiar  views  respecting  the  sex,  he  could  not 
refrain  from  frequently  tempting  his  fate ;  and  Avhat  was 
more  extraordinary,  expected  that  with  a  person  neither 
formed  by  nature  nor  cultivated  by  art  to  please,  he  should 
win  some  woman,  wiser  than  the  rest  of  her  sex,  though  not 
less  fair,  who  should  feel  for  him  the  most  romantic  and 
everlasting  attachment,  —  a  paragon,  who  for  him  would  for 
get  the  follies  and  vanities  of  her  kind ;  who 

Should  go  like  our  maidens  clad  in  grey. 
And  live  in  a  cottage  on  love. 

His  appearance  was  not  in  his  favor :  he  seldom  combed  his 
hair,  and  generally  set  aside,  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  man, 
the  graces  of  fashionable  life.  He  was  tall,  round-shouldered, 
and  pitted  with  the  small-pox;  —  but  he  had  £1,200  a  year. 
Large  white  arms,  long  petticoats,  and  a  robust  frame,  were, 
in  his  reckoning,  indispensable  qualifications  to  the  woman 
he  could  love.  And  yet,  as  might  have  been  expected,  we 
very  soon  find  him  addressing  Miss  Sneyd,  whom  he  had  at 
first  undervalued  for  her  accomplishments,  and  who  possessed 


THOMAS  DAY.  33 

in  the  suitable  degree  not  one  of  his  requirements.  He  had 
previously  endeavored  to  supply  himself  with  a  mate  pre 
cisely  to  his  liking,  by  taking  two  orphans,  (from  a  Found 
ling  Hospital,  I  believe,)  and  rearing  them  in  his  own  way, 
that  he  might  choose  one  for  his  wife  when  they  arrived  at 
womanhood  ;  but  the  experiment  was  a  failure.  One  of  his 
wards,  he  soon  ascertained,  would  not  suit  him  ;  and  the  other, 
by  a  somewhat  slower  process,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
would  not  suit  her.  Anticipating  the  ingenious  device  by 
which,  in  Canning's  Double  Arrangement,  an  English  bar 
on's  love  of  liberty  and  of  beef  is  equally  expressed  in  the 
title  of  one  of  the  characters,  he  had  endowed  this  girl 
with  a  name  designed  to  compliment  at  once  the  river  Sev 
ern  and  the  memory  of  Algernon  Sidney.  Sabrina  Sidney 
in  time  learned  that  the  efforts  of  her  patron  to  give  her  self- 
command,  by  unexpectedly  discharging  pistols  close  to  her 
ear,  or  by  dropping  melted  sealing-wax  upon  her  bare  shoul 
ders,  were  practices  little  calculated  to  ensure  her  domestic 
happiness  ;  and  she  sought  repose  in  the  arms  of  a  less  philo 
sophical  bridegroom.  But  early  in  1771,  and  pending  this 
discovery  by  the  fair  Sabrina,  Mr.  Day  resolved  to  woo  and 
win  Miss  Sneyd.  Her  friends  afforded  him  every  facility  in 
his  suit,  and  he  was  continually  at  her  side.  But,  notwith 
standing  the  friendship  that  grew  up  between  them,  the  lady 
soon  arrived  at  a  conclusion  adverse  to  his  desires ;  and  when, 
towards  the  end  of  the  summer,  he  sent  her  by  the  hands  of 
his  friendly  ambassador  a  voluminous  proposal  of  marriage, 
that  was  probably  overspread  with  terms  and  conditions,  she 
returned  him  a  hearty  denial.  She  said  that  she  would  not 
"  admit  the  unqualified  control  of  a  husband  over  all  her 
actions ;  she  did  not  feel  that  seclusion  from  society  was  in 
dispensably  necessary  to  preserve  female  virtue,  or  to  secure 
domestic  happiness.  Upon  terms  of  reasonable  equality,  she 
supposed  that  mutual  confidence  might  best  subsist ;  she  said 
that,  as  Mr.  Day  had  decidedly  declared  his  determination 
to  live  in  perfect  seclusion  from  what  is  usually  called  the 
3 


34  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDEF.. 

world,  it  was  fit  she  should  as  decidedly  declare  she  would 
not  change  her  present  mode  of  life,  with  which  she  had  no 
reason  to  be  dissatisfied,  for  any  dark  and  untried  system 
that  could  be  proposed  to  her."  This  refusal  sent  poor  Mr. 
Day  to  bed,  to  be  bled  for  a  fever ;  from  which,  in  a  space, 
he  came  forth  with  philosophic  equanimity,  to  seek  the  hand 
of  Miss  Elizabeth  Sneyd  as  ineffectually  as  he  had  sought 
her  sister's. 

To  return  to  Honora ;  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mr. 
Day  was  blind  to  Mr.  Edgeworth's  admiration  of  this  lady, 
though  no  one  else  perceived  it ;  and  as  his  friend  was  al 
ready  a  married  man,  he  urged  his  removal  from  a  neighbor 
hood  so  dangerous  to  his  peace  of  mind.  In  fact,  when  Mr. 
Day's  fate  was  decided,  the  partially  repressed  passion  of  his 
envoy  returned  with  redoubled  violence,  and  he  found  it 
necessary  to  retire  to  the  continent.  But  the  death  of  his 
wife  and  his  father  left  him,  in  the  spring  of  1773,  free  to 
pursue  his  inclinations ;  and  he  again  came  to  Lichfield. 
Here  he  found  Miss  Sneyd,  happily  rid  of  a  disorder  that 
had  threatened  the  destruction  of  her  sight,  and  more  beau 
tiful  than  ever  ;  "  and  though  surrounded  by  lovers,  still  her 
own  mistress."  The  wooing  was  speedy  and  successful,  but 
apparently  not  without  interruption.  It  is  true  that  in  1771, 
he  says  Miss  Seward  declared  her  friend  was  free  from  any 
engagement  or  attachment  incompatible  with  her  receiving 
a  suitor's  addresses  ;  but  the  little  slaps,  which  he  now  and 
then  bestows  upon  that  lady,  seem  to  point  her  out  as  not 
altogether  favoring  the  current  of  his  love.  She  had  been 
the  first,  he  asserts,  to  perceive  the  impression  Honora  had 
made  on  him,  several  years  before  ;  and  he  gives  her  credit 
for  a  magnanimous  preference  of  her  friend's  praises  to  her 
own.  But  after  rather  ungallantly  referring  to  her  rivalry 
with  Mrs.  Darwin  for  the  doctor's  hand,  he  lets  us  perceive 
that  at  their  first  acquaintance  Miss  Seward,  ignorant  of  his 
being  already  provided  for,  was  not  herself  unwilling  to  make 
an  impression  upon  his  heart.  And  when  he  comes  to  the 


MR.  EDGE  WORTH  AND  MISS   SEWARD.  35 

courtship  of  his  second  wife,  he  once  or  twice  has  occasion  to 
notice  her  again.  For  whether  because  of  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  funeral  baked  meats  were  succeeded  by  the  mar 
riage  banquet,  or  because  she  still  cherished  a  hope  that  An 
dre  might  yet  be  the  happy  man,  she  does  not  appear  to 
have  greatly  encouraged  the  affair.  Mr.  Edgeworth,  indeed, 
besides  his  intrinsic  worth  and  a  respectable  position  among 
the  landed  gentry,  possessed  advantages  of  fortune  which 
Andre  could  not  lay  claim  to ;  but  Miss  Seward  was  enthu 
siastic  in  her  disposition,  and  perhaps  looked  upon  her  friend 
in  Warnford  Court  as  capable  of  founding  in  his  mercantile 
pursuits  a  house  as  illustrious  and  as  dignified  as  that  of  De 
la  Pole,  of  the  third  Edward's  reign,  or  of  Greville,  "  the 
flower  of  woolstaplers,"  in  the  days  of  James  I. ;  each  of 
which  sprung  to  nobility  from  successful  commerce,  and  each 
of  which  has  allied  its  owrn  with  the  great  names  of  literary 
history  ;  with  Chaucer,  and  with  Sidney.  Nor  would  his 
entrance  into  the  army  operate  against  this  idea.  In  the 
American  war,  the  leader  who  united  the  highest  social  and 
military  rank — Lord  Cornwallis  —  traced  the  first  start  to 
dignity  of  his  house  to  a  city  merchant,  and  its  advent  to 
greatness  to  its  services  against  domestic  insurrection.  And 
surely  Andre  —  brave,  wise,  insinuating,  indefatigable  — 
must  have  been  expected  to  achieve  a  very  great  success  in 
whatever  career  his  ambition  and  his  inclinations  united 
upon.  Let  only  opportunity  be  present  to  such  a  character, 
and  it  will  little  matter  whether  he  be  born  of  cloth  of  gold 
or  cloth  of  frieze.  As  Spenser  has  it,  — 

"  In  brave  pursuitt  of  honourable  deed, 
There  is  I  know  not  what  great  difference 
Between  the  vulgar  and  the  noble  seed ; 
Which  unto  things  of  valorous  pretence 
Seemes  to  be  borne  by  native  influence." 

But  if  any  efforts  were  made  to  preserve  the  lady's  hand  for 
Andre,  they  were  in  vain.  Even  on  their  first  acquaintance, 
her  new  suitor  believed  himself  to  perceive  that  she  was 


36  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

more  at  ease  with  himself  than  with  most  people  ;  that  she 
felt  as  though  her  character  had  never  thitherto  been  fully 
appreciated  ;  and  he  was  not  likely  now  to  spare  any  pains 
to  confirm  this  impression.  His  addresses  were  entirely  suc 
cessful ;  and  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1773,  by  special  li 
cense,  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth  and  Honora  Sneyd  were 
married  in  the  ladies'  choir  of  Lichfield  Cathedral,  Mr. 
Seward  performing  the  ceremony.  "  Miss  Seward,  notwith 
standing  some  imaginary  cause  of  dissatisfaction  which  she 
felt  about  a  bridesmaid,"  says  Edgeworth,  "  was,  I  believe, 
really  glad  to  see  Honora  united  to  a  man  whom  she  had 
often  said  she  thought  peculiarly  suited  to  her  friend  in  taste 
and  disposition."  He  also  adds  that  the  marriage  "  was  with 
the  consent  of  her  father."  Miss  Seward  had  previously  told 
the  world  that  this  consent  was  bestowed  with  reluctance,  and 
published  her  regrets  that  Andre  had  not  been  the  groom.* 

Honora' s  subsequent  life  seems  to  have  been  happy.  It 
was  partly  passed  in  Ireland,  partly  in  England.  Of"  an  in 
quisitive  disposition,  she  was  pleased  in  bearing  a  share  in 
her  husband's  pursuit  of  knowledge,  and  by  the  clearness  of 
her  judgment  was  of  service  to  him  in  his  intellectual  avoca 
tions  ;  "  as  her  understanding  had  arrived  at  maturity  before 
she  had  acquired  any  strong  prejudices  on  historical  subjects, 
she  derived  uncommon  benefit  from  books."  The  charge  of 
her  own  children  and  of  those  of  her  predecessor  occupied 
much  of  her  thoughts,  and  in  1778,  while  teaching  her  first 
born  to  read,  she  wrote,  in  conjunction  with  her  husband,  the 
First  Part  of  Harry  and  Lucy,  of  which  they  had  a  few  cop- 

*  Miss  Seward  says  that  after  Mr.  Edgeworth  had  removed  Honora  from 
"the  Darwinian  sphere,"  and  Mr.  Day  had  offered  "his  philosophic  hand  " 
to  her  sister,  she  sent  him  to  France  to  learn  a  few  airs  and  graces.  He 
returned,  however,  so  stilted  and  stiff'  that  she  was  fain  to  confess  that  ob 
jectionable  to  her  fancy  as  had  been  Thomas  Day,  blackguard,  lie  Avas 
preferable  to  Thomas  Day,  gentleman. 

From  the  similarity  of  name,  we  may  suppose  this  gentleman  was  related 
to  the  parties  in  the  great  Huntingdonshire  case  of  Day  v.  Day,  (1797,) 
a  case  in  which  R.  Sneyd,  Esq.,  of  Keel,  in  Staffordshire,  appears  as  a 
magistrate,  receiving  affidavits  for  the  plaintiff. 


DEATH   OF  MISS   SNEYD.  37 

ies  privately  printed  in  large  type  for  the  use  of  their  chil 
dren.  This  was  probably  the  earliest  essay  towards  instilling, 
under  the  guise  of  amusement,  a  taste  for  science  into  the 
youthful  mind.  Their  idea  was  then  to  have  completed  the 
work,  and  it  was  for  them  that  Day  commenced  his  Sandford 
and  Merton ;  but  Mrs*  Edgeworth's  sickness  put  a  close  to 
her  literary  labors.  Day  expanded  his  proposed  slight  tale 
into  a  delightful  book,  and  many  long  years  after,  Maria 
Edgeworth  included  Harry  and  Lucy  in  her  Early  Lessons. 
In  the  meanwhile,  a  prey  to  the  insidious  attacks  of  a  deep- 
seated  consumption,  Mrs.  Edgeworth  was  sinking  into  the 
grave.  Her  husband,  whose  passion  burned  unabated,  nar 
rates  the  closing  scenes  with  much  pathos  :  —  "The  most  be 
loved  as  a  wife,  a  sister,  and  a  friend,  of  any  person  I  have 
ever  known.  Each  of  her  own  family,  unanimously,  almost 

naturally,  preferred  her All  her  friends  adored  her, 

if  treating  her  with  uniform  deference  and  veneration  may 
be  called  adoring."  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  the  dying 
pillow  of  such  a  woman  was  made  as  tranquil  as  man's  love 
could  compass.  This  appears  from  a  letter  of  farewell  writ 
ten  in  her  last  hours  to  a  near  kinswoman :  —  "I  have  every 
blessing,  and  I  am  happy.  The  conversation  of  my  beloved 
husband,  when  my  breath  will  let  me  have  it,  is  my  greatest 
delight ;  he  procures  me  every  comfort,  and,  as  he  always 
said  he  thought  he  should,  contrives  for  me  every  thing  that 
can  ease  and  assist  my  weakness. 

'  Like  a  kind  angel  whispers  peace, 
And  smooths  the  bed  of  death.'  " 

It  was  her  dying  request  that  her  husband  should  marry  her 
sister  Elizabeth,  who,  like  herself,  had  been  sought  in  mar 
riage  by  his  friend  Day.  This  desire  Mr.  Edgeworth  ful 
filled ;  and  she  also  dying,  he  took  in  fourth  nuptials  the 
sister  of  the  late  Admiral  Beaufort  ;  and  here  we  will  leave 
him.  It  was  in  honor  of  his  second  wife,  we  are  told,  that 
he  gave  her  name  to  the  town  of  Sneydborough,  in  North 


38  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Carolina ;  a  province  in  which  he  possessed  some  landed  in 
terests.  In  1780,  the  same  year  that  witnessed  Andre's 
death,  died  a  second  Honora  Edgeworth,  the  only  surviving 
daughter  of  Honora  Sneyd.  The  little  tale  of  Rivuletta, 
published  in  Early  Lessons,  and  some  drawings  that  are  yet 
preserved,  attest  this  child's  resemblance  in  talents  to  her 
mother;  —  she  resembled  her  as  well  in  constitution,  and  in 
the  source  of  her  death. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Andre"  joins  the  Army. — Visits  Germany.  —  Condition  of  the  Service. — 
He  comes  to  America.  —  State  of  American  Affairs. 


EVERY  historical  writer,  who  has  treated  of  the  subject, 
has  been  under  the  impression  that  it  was  despair  at  the 
marriage  to  another  of  the  woman  whom  he  loved  which  led 
Andre  to  renounce  his  previous  occupation  and  to  enter  the 
army.  Mr.  Sparks  says,  "  From  that  moment  Andre"  be 
came  disgusted  with  his  pursuits,  and  resolved  to  seek  relief 
from  his  bitter  associations,  and  dissipate  the  memory  of  his 
sorrows  in  the  turmoil  and  dangers  of  war."  Lord  Mahon, 
after  mentioning  the  marriage,  remarks,  "Andre,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  seek  relief  from  his  sorrows,  joined  the  Brit 
ish  army  in  Canada,  with  a  Lieutenant's  commission,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war."  The  error  was  one  into  which  these 
distinguished  writers  were  reasonably  led,  but  which  may 
very  properly  be  corrected  by  the  "  snapper-up  of  unconsid- 
ered  trifles."  It  was  probably  through  the  statements  of 
Miss  Seward  that  the  mistake  originated ;  who  asserts  that 
Andre's  constancy  remained  unshaken  until  he  heard  of 
Honora's  wedding. 

'^Though  four  long  years  a  night  of  absence  prove, 
Yet  Hope's  fond  star  shone  trembling  on  his  love; 
Till  hovering  Rumour  chas'd  the  pleasing  dream, 
And  veil'd  with  raven-wing  the  silver  beam." 

The  "  hovering  Rumour  "  she  explains  to  have  been  "  the 
tidings  of  Honora's  marriage.  Upon  that  event  Mr.  Andre 
quitted  his  profession  as  a  merchant,  and  joined  our  army  in 
America."  Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  four  years  which 
elapsed  between  the  Buxton  connection  of  1769  and  Edge- 


40  LIFE  OF  MAJOR   ANDRE. 

worth's  marriage  in  1773,  were  to  Andre,  in  the  main,  "  a 
night  of  absence ; "  and  that  even  a  correspondence  did  not 
long  subsist  may  be  inferred  from  the  declaration  that  it  was 
to  a  hovering  rumor  that  he  owed  the  intelligence  of  Honora 
being  the  bride  of  another.  Therefore  the  half-suppressed 
indignation  of  Mr.  Edgeworth  at  this  version  of  the  affair, 
may  be  well  understood.  He  complains  that  the  author  of 
the  Monody  insinuates  that  Major  Andre  was,  in  plain  Eng 
lish,  jilted  by  the  lady  ;  and  that,  "  in  consequence  of  this 
disappointment,  he  went  into  the  army,  and  quitted  this  coun 
try."  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  during  these  four  years 
Miss  Sneyd  had  been  considered  by  her  family  as  entirely 
disengaged,  and  free  to  receive  the  addresses  of  any  eligible 
suitor ;  nor  that,  as  in  Mr.  Day's  case,  she  actually  had  re 
ceived  such  addresses.  The  fairest  conclusion  which  we  can 
arrive  at  is,  that  Andre,  abashed  at  the  discouragement  his 
suit  had  encountered,  and  discouraged  by  the  difficulties  to 
be  overcome  ere  he  could  be  permitted  to  return  to  the  siege, 
had  given  way  to  the  original  bent  of  his  inclinations,  with 
out  at  all  relinquishing  the  attachment  which  he  no  longer 
could  have  reason  to  expect  would  be  presently  gratified. 
That  he  should  abandon  the  hope  of  ultimate  success  need 
not  at  all  be  considered. 

"  None,  without  hope,  e'er  loved  the  brightest  fair, 
Yet  love  will  hope,  where  reason  must  despair." 

His  aversion  to  trade  and  wishes  for  a  military  career  have 
already  been  manifested,  in  his  letters  of  1769  ;  and  it  may 
readily  be  conceived  that  the  advantages  of  an  employment 
for  which  by  nature  and  by  education  he  was  especially  well 
adapted,  were  not  \vithout  their  weight  in  his  mind.  Few 
men,  as  the  result  proved,  were  more  capable  than  he  of 
winning  a  soldier's  rewards  ;  and  no  man  of  the  day  could 
have  worn  them  with  more  grace  ; 

"  Medals,  rank,  ribands,  lace,  embroidery,  scarlet, 
Are  things  immortal  to  immortal  man;" 


HE  VISITS  GERMANY.  41 

and  his  age  must  have  given  them  peculiar  charms  to  Andre. 
The  love  of  fame  —  "that  last  infirmity  of  noble  minds"  — 
was  joined  in  him,  as  is  shown  by  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
life,  with  that  thirst  for  military  glory  frhich  so  long  as  hu 
man  nature  exists  in  its  present  constitution,  will  ever,  ac 
cording  to  Gibbon,  be  "  the  vice  of  the  most  exalted  charac 
ters."  So  soon,  therefore,  as  he  approached  his  twenty-first 
year,  we  find  him  entering  the  army.  The  son  of  an  Amer 
ican  officer,  who  was  much  with  him  in  his  last  days,  and  in 
whose  letters  Andre's  fate  always  found  the  language  of  sym 
pathy  and  friendship,  asserts  that  he  tore  himself  from  the 
reluctant  arms  of  the  circle  of  devoted  relatives  in  which  he 
had  been  educated,  to  wear  the  King's  livery.  This  informa 
tion  may  have  been  obtained  by  Colonel  Hamilton  from 
Andre's  own  lips  ;  but  it  is  only  confirmatory  of  the  deduc 
tion  to  be  drawn  from  his  letters,  that  there  was  a  strong 
prejudice  among  his  friends  in  favor  of  his  remaining  in  the 
compting-house.  Their  wishes  were,  however,  unavailing. 
In  January,  1772,  by  an  account  said  to  have  been  furnished 
by  his  most  intimate  friends,  he  entered  the  army.  "  His  first 
commission,"  says  Mr.  Edgeworth,  with  greater  particularity, 
"  was  dated  March  4th,  1771."  This  was  more  than  two  years 
and  four  months  antecedent  to  Miss  Sneyd's  marriage ;  but 
it  was  in  the  very  time  of  those  attentions  of  Mr.  Day  which 
all  the  Lichfield  world,  Mr.  Edgeworth  himself  included, 
did  not  question  were  certain  to  succeed.  Perhaps,  there 
fore,  Miss  Seward  may  have  confounded  the  two  events  in 
her  memory,  and  attributed  an  effect  to  a  wrong  cause. 

In  the  early  part  of  1772,  Andre  went  over  to  Germany, 
and  did  not  return  to  England  until  the  close  of  1773.  Dur 
ing  this  period  he  visited  most  of  the  courts  in  that  part  of 
Europe.  His  kinsman,  Mr.  John  Andre,  was  established  in 
business  as  a  musical  composer  and  publisher  at  Offenbach ; 
and  the  young  officer's  presence  at  her  father's  house  was 
long  borne  in  mind  by  a  daughter,  whose  impression  in  later 
days  was  that  her  cousin's  business  in  Germany  was  to  con- 


42  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR&. 

duct  a  corps  of  Hessians  to  America.  This,  in  1772,  would 
have  been  rather  premature;  but  it  is  very  possible  that  his 
affairs  there,  away  from  his  regiment  for  nearly  two  years, 
may  have  been  in  some  manner  connected  with  German  sub 
sidiaries,  and  under  the  direction  of  his  own  government. 

The  regiment  which  Andre  had  joined  was  the  Seventh 
Foot,  or  Royal  English  Fusiliers :  one  of  the  oldest  corps  in 
the  line,  and  dating  its  formation  in  the  year  1685.  The 
rank  of  ensign  does  not  exist  in  a  fusilier  regiment,  the 
grade  being  supplied  by  a  second  lieutenant  ;  it  was  in  this 
latter  capacity  that  he  seems  to  have  first  served.  In  April, 
1773,  the  regiment  had  been  embarked  for  Canada,  where  it 
performed  garrison  duty  at  Quebec  for  several  months  until 
it  was  sent  to  Montreal,  and  variously  posted  in  Lower  Can 
ada.  Before  leaving  England  to  join  it,  however,  it  is  as 
serted  that  Andre  paid  a  final  visit  of  farewell  to  Miss  S<3w- 
ard  and  to  the  scenes  of  his  former  happiness ;  which  was 
attended  by  circumstances  of  a  character  so  strange  as  to  be 
worthy  of  repetition,  if  not  of  belief.  During  his  stay,  we 
are  told,  Miss  Seward  had  made  arrangements  to  take  him  to 
see  and  be  introduced  to  her  friends  Cunningham  and  New 
ton,  —  both  gentlemen  of  a  poetical  turn.  On  the  night  pre 
ceding  the  day  appointed  for  her  appearance,  Mr.  Cunning 
ham  dreamed  that  he  was  alone  in  a  great  forest.  Presently 
he  perceived  a  horseman  approaching  at  great  speed ;  but  as 
he  drew  near  to  the  spot  where  the  dreamer  imagined  him 
self  to  stand,  three  men  suddenly  sprung  from  their  conceal 
ment  among  the  bushes,  seized  on  the  rider,  and  bore  him 
away.  The  captive's  countenance  was  visible  ;  its  interesting 
appearance,  and  the  singularity  of  the  incident,  left  an  un 
pleasant  feeling  on  Mr.  Cunningham's  mind  as  he  awoke. 
But  soon  falling  to  sleep  again,  he  was  visited  by  a  second 
vision  even  more  troubling  than  the  first.  He  found  himself 
one  of  a  vast  multitude  met  near  a  great  city :  and  while  all 
were  gazing,  a  man,  whom  he  recognized  as  the  same  person 
that  had  just  been  captured  in  the  forest,  was  brought  forth 


CONDITION  OF  THE   SERVICE.  43 

and  hanged  upon  a  gibbet.  These  dreams  were  repeated  the 
following  morning  to  Mr.  Newton ;  and  when,  a  little  after, 
Miss  Seward  made  her  appearance  with  Andre,  Mr.  Cun 
ningham  at  once  knew  him  to  be  the  unhappy  stranger 
whom  he  had  seen  stopped  and  hanged. 

Whether  this  story  may  not  belong  to  the  class  of  predic 
tions  which  are  not  heard  of  until  the  event  has  occurred, 
will  not  be  inquired  into  here.  A  more  important  subject 
of  contemplation  is  the  condition  and  nature  of  the  new  life 
into  which  Andre  had  now  embarked  ;  and  as  the  constitution 
of  the  British  army  was  at  that  time  so  anomalous,  and  as 
much  of  its  ill-success  in  the  American  war  was  directly 
attributable  to  the  peculiarities  of  its  organization,  it  may  be 
as  well  to  set  a  state  of  the  case  before  the  reader.  Not 
long  prior  to  hostilities,  Mr.  (afterwards  Lord)  Erskine  had 
vigorously  exposed  the  glaring  inefficiencies  of  the  existing 
system.  Fifty  years  later  Scott,  ex  cathedra,  even  more 
thoroughly  recapitulated  its  abuses. 

The  purchasing  of  commissions  was  then  at  its  height ; 
and  to  mend  matters,  great  men  in  power  could  always  ob 
tain  a  pair  of  colors  at  the  War-Office  for  a  favorite  or  de 
pendant.  Children  in  the  cradle  thus  were  enrolled  in  the 
army-lists  ;  a  school-boy  might  be  a  field-officer ;  and  amia 
ble  young  ladies  are  known  to  have  drawn  the  pay  and  held 
the  title  of  captains  of  dragoons.  Of  course  they  did  no  duty  ; 
but  they  were  as  fit  for  it  as  many  who  did.  -There  was  no 
military  school  in  the  kingdom ;  and  no  military  knowledge 
was  exacted  of  the  officer  who,  ashamed  of  being  suspected 
of  possessing  the  first  rudiments  of  his  profession,  huddled 
through  the  exercise  by  repeating  the  words  of  command 
from  a  sergeant,  and  hastened  back  to  more  congenial  scenes 
of  idleness  or  dissipation.  These  were  the  days  when  to 
be  "  a  pretty  fellow  "  was  a  manner  of  qualification  for  the 
service,  —  when  the  Amlets,  and  Plumes,  and  Brazens  of  the 
stage  were  fair  types  of  a  class  that  "  swore  hard,  drank 
deep,  bilked  tradesmen,  and  plucked  pigeons."  The  few 


44  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDIl£. 

men  of  social  rank  that  had  any  degree  of  professional  skill 
were  regarded  as  paragons  ;  while  any  talent  that  might 
exist  in  a  subaltern  was,  as  it  is  too  often  now,  rather  a  curse 
than  a  blessing  to  its  owner,  unless  he  had  money  or  patron 
age  to  get  on  with.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  uniform 
system  of  tactics ;  every  commandant  manoeuvred  his  regi 
ment  after  his  own  preference,  and  thus,  without  previous 
concert,  a  brigade  could  not  half  the  time  execute  any  com 
bined  movement  decently.  The  garb  of  the  private  was 
ludicrously  unsuitable  and  absurd.  More  time  was  given  to 
daubing  the  hair  with  tallow  and  flour  than  to  the  manual  or 
drill ;  and  the  severity  with  which  a  neglected  queue  was 
punished  sometimes  goaded  the  very  best  corps  into  mutiny. 
In  fact,  the  more  crack  a  regiment  became,  the  less  it  seems 
to  me  to  have  been  fit  for  service ;  and  there  is  verisimili 
tude,  if  not  truth,  in  the  story  of  the  Hessian  colonel  who 
blew  his  brains  out  because,  in  reply  to  his  boast  that  his 
dragoons  dressed  in  a  line  were  so  equally  matched  that  but 
one  pigtail  could  be  seen  along  the  backs  of  all,  the  Duke  of 
York  pointed  out  the  irregularity  of  their  noses  ! 

Such  being  the  condition  of  the  army,  it  is  perhaps  not 
too  much  to  suppose  that  Andre,  having  purchased  his  com 
mission,  was  determined  to  put  himself  on  a  footing  so  far 
superior  to  his  fellows  as  would  certainly  facilitate  his  ad 
vancement ;  and  that,  therefore,  he  may  have  been  on  the 
continent  occupied  in  perfecting  himself  in  various  profes 
sional  branches,  for  which  England  could  have  afforded  no 
facilities  ;  since  it  is  well  known  that,  at  a  still  later  period 
in  the  century,  Wellington  was  sent  abroad  to  acquire  the 
rudiments  of  an  officer's  education.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he 
embarked  in  1774  to  join  his  regiment,  then  stationed  in  Can 
ada,  and  arrived  on  his  journey  at  Philadelphia  in  September 
of  that  year. 

It  may  well  be  asked  why  Andre  should  have  taken  tins 
route  to  Canada.  The  travel  from  the  Delaware  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  was  to  the  full  as  tedious  as  that  from  England 


HE  COMES   TO  AMERICA.  45 

to  America  ^  and  the  voyage  between  the  two  countries 
could  have  as  readily  been  performed  to  one  river  as  the 
other.  On  Sunday,  the  17th  of  the  very  month  in  which 
he  reached  Philadelphia,  the  ship  Canadian  arrived  at  Que 
bec,  in  sixty  days  from  Cowes,  bringing  over  Carleton 
and  his  family  ;  of  which  Viscount  Pitt,  the  elder  son  of 
the  great  Earl  of  Chatham,  was  then  a  member.  From 
our  knowledge  of  Andre's  character,  it  seems  unlikely  that 
without  some  cause  he  should  have  missed  the  opportunity 
which  taking  passage  in  this  vessel  would  have  afforded,  of 
coming  in  direct  contact,  through  several  weeks,  with  his 
commander.  Or  he  might  have  sailed  in  other  vessels  to 
Quebec,  or  even  to  Boston,  and  have  thus  saved  a  long  and 
fatiguing  part  of  the  course.  Is  it  not  probable  that  the 
selection  of  Philadelphia  was  governed  by  the  circumstance 
that  the  meeting  of  the  first  Continental  Congress  was  called 
at  that  place,  and  that  there  was  a  good  deal  for  an  intelli 
gent  eye-witness  to  possess  himself  of  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Canada  ?  His  own  inclination  may  have  suggested 
this  idea ;  but  if  it  really  had  an  existence,  it  was  in  all 
likelihood  carried  into  effect  by  direction  of  Carleton  him 
self;  —  a  leader  whom  Heath,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  our  revolu 
tionary  army,  characterizes  as  the  greatest  general  the  British 
had  in  this  country  during  the  war,  and  whose  retention  in 
Canada  he  pronounced  an  especial  piece  of  good  fortune  to 
America.  This  is  the  only  manner  in  which  Andre's  pres 
ence  in  the  South  can  be  accounted  for  at  a  time  when  he 
should  serve  his  sovereign  in  the  North.  He  was  a  prodig 
iously  keen  observer ;  he  doubtless  noted  all  that  he  saw : 
and  the  state  of  things  in  the  colonies  was,  beyond  question, 
of  a  nature  to  excite  the  anxious  attention  of  every  considering 
man  in  authority.  Domestic  troubles  were  more  than  appre 
hended  by  the  ministry,  and  the  intervention  of  the  military 
arm  was  provided  for.  The  temper  of  the  people  and  the 
signs  of  the  times  in  America  would  therefore  be  points  to 
which  so  far-sighted  a  person  as  Carleton  could  not  be  in 
different. 


46  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDEL'. 

At  this  very  moment,  however,  it  is  probable  that  our 
Revolution  could  have  been  turned  aside  by  a  change  of 
British  policy.  The  bulk  of  the  patriotic  party  here  were 
in  opposition  as  Englishmen  less  than  Americans.  They 
applauded  the  words  of  Chatham  and  Rockingham,  and  re 
garded  North  as  their  political  enemy,  and  the  misleader  of 
the  king.  They  did  not  know  that  it  was  the  king  who 
guided  his  ministers,  and  who  really  is  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  production  of  measures  of  questionable  constitution 
ality,  and  as  impolitic  as  impracticable.* 

The  general  tone  of  whig  feeling  in  Philadelphia  had  from 
the  first  been  cautious  but  firm.  The  public  sympathy  was, 
it  is  true,  warmly  enlisted  for  the  Bostonians  ;  but  the  public 
mind  was  not  as  yet  filed  to  that  hostility  to  England  which 
prevailed  in  Massachusetts.  The  first  Continental  Congress, 
however,  was  now  met ;  and  as  it  was  in  session  at  Phila 
delphia  from  5th  September  to  26th  October,  1774,  we  may 
reasonably  conclude  that  its  doings  were  not  disregarded  by 
Andre.  The  secrecy  in  which  the  conduct  of  this  body  was 
wrapt,  prevents  us  to-day  from  knowing  much  more  than 
what  appears  on  its  published  record  ;  but  by  contempo 
raries,  many  things  must  have  at  least  been  surmised,  which 
are  lost  to  us  forever.  It  sufficiently  appears  that  the 
boasted  unanimity  of  the  assembly  had  no  foundation  in 
fact.  At  an  early  stage  it  seems  to  have  been  agreed,  by 

*  It  is  curious  to  note  how  entirely  North's  dispositions  were  misunder 
stood.  It  is  now  known  that  attachment  to  the  king  rather  than  desire  of 
power  kept  him  at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  committed  him  to  the  most  ob 
noxious  measures.  Inheriting  more  of  the  capacity  than  the  ambition  of 
the  Lord-Keeper,  he  would  have  preferred  pleasure  to  fame ;  and  when  he 
was  figured  in  America  as  devising  new  schemes  of  oppression,  was,  per 
haps,  frolicking  with  Thurlow  and  Kigby,  or  making  bouts  rimes  at  the 
dinner-table.  Of  his  skill  in  this  line,  an  anecdote  is  preserved.  Lord 
Sandwich  so  placed  a  lame  Mr.  Melligan  that  his  name  came  to  North's 
turn  in  tagging  verses.  The  result  was  thus  sung  by  the  Prime  Minister : — 

"  Oh,  pity  poor  Mr.  Melligan! 
Who,  walking  along  Pallmall. 
Hurt  his  foot  when  down  he  fell, 
And  fears  he  won't  get  well  again !  " 


STATE  OF  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS.  47 

way  of  lending  weight  to  every  conclusion,  that  the  decision 
of  a  majority  should  be  acquiesced  in  by  all ;  and  that  no 
one  should  reveal  anything  that  transpired  without  express 
permission  of  congress.  After  this  arrangement  had  been 
settled  upon,  we  are  told,  by  a  well-informed  tory  pamphlet 
eer  of  the  day,  that  when  some  strong  measures  were  intro 
duced  and  carried,  the  effect  on  the  minority  was  like  "  the 
springing  of  a  mine,  or  the  bursting  of  a  bomb  "  in  Carpen 
ters'  Hall.  So  far  as  can  be  now  gathered,  we  may  infer 
that  to  this  congress  came  several  delegates  who  had  re 
solved  in  their  secret  hearts  upon  secession  from  Britain, 
and  whose  aim  was  to  produce  war  rather  than  reconcilia 
tion.*  Whether  or  not  they  represented  the  wishes  of  their 
own  constituents,  they  certainly  did  not  in  this  fulfil  the 
desires  of  the  colonies  generally ;  and  it  was  necessary,  by 
evasion  or  denial,  to  deceive  the  country  at  large  with  loyal 
professions,  until  nearly  two  years  later,  when  a  majority 
of  congress  was  ready  to  unite  in  the  resolve  of  indepen 
dence.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  a  Boston  statesman  thus 
referred  to  his  own  services  in  producing  the  result :  — 

"  Here,  in  my  retreat,  like  another  Catiline,  the  collar 
around  my  neck,  in  danger  of  the  severest  punishment,  I 
laid  down  the  plan  of  the  revolt ;  I  endeavored  to  persuade 
my  timid  accomplices  that  a  most  glorious  revolution  might 

*  "  I  had  not,  Sir,  been  in  Congress  a  fortnight  before  I  discovered  that 
pai  ties  were  forming,  and  that  some  members  had  come  to  that  assembly 
with  views  altogether  different  from  what  America  professed  to  have,  and 
what,  bating  a  designing  junto,  she  really  had.  Of  these  men,  her  inde 
pendency  upon  Great  Britain,  at  all  events,  was  the  most  favourite  pro 
ject.  By  these  the  pulse  of  the  rest  was  felt  on  every  favourable  occa 
sion,  and  often  upon  no  occasion  at  all ;  and  by  these  men  measures  were 
concerted  to  produce  what  we  all  professed  to  deprecate ;  nay,  at  the  very 
time  that  we  universally  invoked  the  Majesty  of  Heaven  to  witness  the  purity 
of  our  hearts.  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  hearts  of  many  of  us  gave 
our  invocation  the  lie I  cannot  entertain  the  most  favourable  opin 
ion  of  a  man's  veracity,  who  intended  to  do  it,  when  he  swore  he  did  not, 
and  when  he  represented  a  people  who  were  actually  pursuing  measures 
to  prevent  the  necessity  of  doing  it."  —  Livingston  to  Laurens,  Sedg.  Liv. 
173. 


48  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

be  the  result  of  our  efforts,  but  I  scarcely  dared  to  hope  it ; 
and  what  I  have  seen  realized  appears  to  me  like  a  dream. 
You  know  by  what  obscure  intrigues,  by  what  unfaithful 
ness  to  the  mother-country,  a  powerful  party  was  formed ; 
how  the  minds  of  the  people  were  irritated,  before  we  could 
provoke  the  insurrection." 

Had  it  been  avowed  in  the  Congress  of  1774,  that  the  end 
of  some  of  its  leaders  was  a  democratic  and  independent  gov 
ernment,  it  is  probable  that  a  vast  majority  of  the  American 
people  would  have  repulsed  them  with  indignation.  By  dis 
simulation,  however,  they  maintained  the  control  until  affairs 
were  sufficiently  ripe.  For  indeed  the  issue  was  very  clear. 
America  was  at  this  moment  disciplining  her  troops  with  the 
view  of  resisting  the  enforcement  of  certain  acts  of  Parlia 
ment.  It  was  folly  to  suppose  that  this  course  would  not 
end  in  open  hostilities,  unless  the  acts  were  repealed  ;  and 
hostilities  once  begun,  subjugation  or  independence  was  the 
inevitable  result.  More  far-sighted  than  their  colleagues, 
they  perceived  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  keep  both  coun 
tries  moving  in  their  present  course  to  render  a  collision  cer 
tain.  Indeed,  despite  the  loyal  protestations  that  America 
put  forth  during  the  ensuing  twelvemonth,  there  can  be  little 
question  but  that  Thurlow  was  correct  in  asserting  that  at 
the  end  of  1774  open  rebellion  existed  in  the  colonies. 

Nor  could  anything  have  more  entirely  aided  this  party 
in  congress  than  the  course  pursued  in  England  by  the 
leaders  of  the  two  great  factions.  On  the  one  hand  they 
were  told  by  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  state,  that  their 
cause  was  just  and  their  resistance  laudable  ;  —  Chatham  and 
Burke,  Richmond  and  Granby  applauded  their  course ; 
Savile  upheld  it  as  "  a  justifiable  rebellion."  On  the  other, 
as  though  with  full  intent  to  stimulate  into  rage  against 
England,  every  American  who  had  not  as  yet  drawn  the 
sword,  the  halls  of  Parliament  echoed  with  the  denials  to  our 
countrymen  of  the  most  ordinary  attributes  of  manhood.  In 


STATE    OF    AMERICAN    AFFAIBS.  49 

the  Lords,  Sandwich  pronounced  his  American  fellow-sub 
jects  to  be  cowards,  and  only  regretted  that  there  was  no 
probability  of  the  king's  troops  encountering  at  once  "  two 
hundred  thousand  of  such  a  rabble,  armed  with  old  rusty 
firelocks,  pistols,  staves,  clubs,  and  broomsticks ; "  and  thus 
exterminating  rebellion  at  one  blow.  The  speaker's  brother 
might  have  given  him  a  different  idea  of  American  prowess, 
since  he  had  been  sufficiently  beaten,  in  the  streets  of  Bos 
ton,  by  a  smaller  man  from  Roxbury,  for  some  wild  frolic. 
But  he  preferred  the  testimony  of  Sir  Peter  Warren  as  to 
the  misconduct  of  the  New  England  troops  at  Louisbourg 
in  1745 ;  testimony  which,  if  true,  convicts  them  of  cow 
ardice  not  unlike  that  for  which  Lord  George  Germain, 
the  incoming  Secretary  of  State,  had  been  cashiered  by  a 
court-martial.  In  the  Commons,  too,  Colonel  Grant,  who 
knew  the  Americans  well,  was  certain  they  would  not  fight. 
They  possessed  not  a  single  military  trait,  and  would  never 
stand  to  meet  an  English  bayonet.  He  had  been  in  Amer 
ica,  and  disliked  their  language  and  their  way  of  life,  and 
thought  them  altogether  entirely  "  out  of  humanity's  reach." 
He  forgot  to  add,  however,  that  his  own  services  among 
the  Alleghanies  had  not  been  of  a  very  triumphant  charac 
ter  ;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  believe  that  Cruger,  an  American- 
born,  reminded  him  of  this  fact  in  his  reply,  since  we  find 
him  called  to  order  as  being  personal.  But  these  boastful 
and  injurious  words  had  at  least  one  good  effect :  they  pro 
voked  the  Americans.  Even  Washington  was  disturbed  by 
such  wholesale  slanders,  and  long  alter,  when  some  British 
troops  had  been  badly  treated  at  Lexington,  found  occasion 
to  remind  his  friends  in  London  of  Lord  Sandwich's  lan 
guage. 

If  such  then  was  the  sentiment  in  the  senate,  we  need 
hardly  ask  how  American  valor  was  esteemed  in  the  royal 
camp  ;  but,  in  truth,  there  appears  to  have  been  such  an  in 
finite  disdain  of  its  opponents  in  this  quarter,  that,  considering 
all  things,  it  is  almost  wonderful  that  the  king's  cause  was 
4 


50  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRfi. 

not  ruined  outright  at  the  very  commencement  of  the  war. 
As  the  Roman  soldiery  scornfully  held  every  civilian  to  be 
a  peasant,  and  as  the  Christians,  improving  on  this,  extended 
the  word  pagan  to  every  one  not  of  their  faith.  —  so  the 
English  officer  of  that  day  seems  to  have  deemed  the  colonist 
as  the  basest  of  all  base  mohairs.  One  gallant  general 
thought  a  single  regiment  would  be  sufficient  to  march  from 
Massachusetts  to  Georgia,  and  to  make  singing-boys  of  all 
the  people.  Another  (the  natural  brother  of  the  king)  more 
moderately  writes  from  Florida,  that  "  three  or  four  regi 
ments  would  completely  settle  those  scoundrels  "  in  Carolina. 
Robertson  thought  it  very  dastardly  in  the  Yankees  to  get 
behind  a  wall ;  and  all  considered  it  mere  idiocy  to  look  for 
anything  like  a  contested  field.  But  there  were  plenty  of 
men  who  recollected  how  the  very  same  language  had  been 
held  by  the  king's  officers  before  Falkirk  and  Preston,  and 
what  a  running  commentary  ensued  thereon. 

But  the  most  unfortunate  encouragement  that  America 
received  from  England,  was  the  assurance  that  the  latter 
country,  whether  by  reason  of  the  general  aversion  to  the 
war,  whether  because  of  its  own  comparative  feebleness, 
would  not  hold  out  beyond  a  single  campaign.  A  greater 
blunder  was  never  made ;  and  its  effect  was  to  persuade 
congress  and  the  people,  that  an  easy  victory  was  in  store 
for  us,  and  to  thus  prevent  proper  preparation  for  a  long 
and  severe  conflict.  This  delusion  governed  in  great  meas 
ure  the  action  of  the  first  and  the  second  congress  ;  and  it  is 
noteworthy  that  its  chief  supporters  were  the  delegates  who 
afterwards  led  the  cabal  against  Washington.  By  giving 
forth  a  false  estimate  of  the  enemy's  power,  they  very  ma 
terially  weakened  our  own  ;  and  by  neglecting  the  means  to 
make  victory  secure,  they  at  least  rendered  it  very  doubtful. 
In  fact,  England  was  at  that  moment  in  admirable  condition 
for  war.  The  lower  classes  were  poor,  while  the  middle  and 
upper  were  unusually  rich.  Commercial  prosperity  and  the 
successes  of  the  last  part  of  the  preceding  war  had  brought  into 


STATE  OF  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS.  51 

the  realm  an  unwonted  excess  of  the  circulating  coin  of  the 
world.  It  was  estimated,  that  her  people  held  more  solid 
wealth  than  those  of  any  two  other  states  in  Europe.  Thus, 
with  plenty  of  poor  to  fill  up  the  ranks,  and  plenty  of  treas 
ure,  the  country  was  in  a  good  position.  And  as  for  public 
sentiment,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  war  was  highly 
popular  with  the  British  nation  until  Europe  joined  against 
them,  and  success  became  hopeless.  In  America,  at  the  out 
break,  the  circulating  cash  was  about  $3,750,000  in  specie, 
and  $26,250,000  in  paper;  showing  a  proper  revenue  of 
about  $7,500,000.  The  population  may  be  estimated  at 
2,448,000  souls,  and  the  military  capacity  at  from  20,000  to 
30^000  men.  Of  course,  on  these  estimates,  a  large  war 
could  not  be  long  carried  on  without  foreign  aid ;  and  it  is 
therefore  again  a  happy  thing,  that  during  the  earlier  years 
of  the  struggle,  and  before  such  assistance  was  procured, 
our  people  were  persuaded  that  every  campaign  would  be 
the  last.  Another  fortunate  circumstance  was,  that  without 
pressing  the  people  by  taxes  for  its  redemption,  and  in  fact, 
without  redeeming  it  at  all,  congress  should  have  been  in  a 
position  to  issue  millions  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  paper- 
money,  wherewith  to  carry  on  the  war. 

Although  secrecy  was  ordered,  yet  it  is  not  likely  that  it 
was  strictly  preserved  in  regard  to  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
first  congress ;  and  in  his  chamber  at  the  Indian  Queen,  or 
at  the  mess  of  the  Royal  Irish,  or  wherever  he  resorted,  we 
may  suppose  that  Andre  picked  up  all  the  floating  gossip  of 
the  day.  Hardly  had  it  met,  when  the  whole  country  from 
Massachusetts  to  Pennsylvania  was  thrown  into  the  utmost 
agitation  by  false  tidings  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities. 
Israel  Putnam  wrote  to  New  York,  that  the  troops  and  ships 
had  began  the  slaughter  of  the  people  on  the  evening  of  the 
2nd  of  September,  and  called  for  aid  from  every  direction. 
This  letter,  sent  by  express,  reached  New  York  on  the  5th, 
and  was  instantly  transmitted  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  bells 
were  rung  muffled  through  the  day ;  and  the  people,  Quakers 


52  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

and  all,  gave  vent  to  feelings  of  rage  and  indignation.  For 
three  days  the  story  was  uncontradicted,  and  fifty  thousand 
men,  it  was  said,  had  prepared  to  march  from  various  quar 
ters  to  Boston.  But  there  was  not  a  jot  or  a  tittle  of  truth 
in  the  tale ;  and  Putnam  had  been  imposed  upon.  The 
story  appears  to  have  been  devised  in  New  England  by 
some  over-anxious  whig,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  congress 
by  surprise  at  its  first  coming  together,  and  plunging  it  into 
such  steps  of  opposition  as  might  not  easily  be  retraced. 
According  to  the  rumor  of-  the  time,  proposals  for  a  declara 
tion  of  independence  were  even  now  suggested  in  Carpenters' 
Hall ;  but  there  were  so  many  delegates  who  threatened  to 
secede  at  once  from  the  assembly,  if  such  a  measure  was 
pressed,  that  it  was  withdrawn,  and  the  association  agreed  on 
in  its  stead  ;  the  object  of  which  was  to  distress  English 
trade  as  much  as  possible,  and  thus  compel  a  repeal  of  the 
obnoxious  laws.  Its  effect,  however,  was  rather  to  draw 
asunder  the  two  countries,  and  to  prepare  a  more  general 
acceptance  by  America  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
of  1776,  than  it  could  possibly  have  encountered  in  1774. 
Thus  again  it  was  happy  for  this  country  that  the  secret 
plans  of  the  independence  party  did  not  now  prevail. 

The  aversion  of  some  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies 
to  certain  measures  led  to  the  formation,  in  the  congress 
of  1774,  of  a  party  that  endured  through  all  the  war;  and 
which,  by  unity  of  action  and  concert  of  purpose,  generally 
exercised  a  controlling  influence  in  the  state.  In  January, 
1775,  we  find  a  zealous  tory  declaring  the  acts  of  the  congress 
to  have  been  unwelcome  to  both  New  York  and  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  "  but  Adams  with  his  crew,  and  the  haughty  Sultans 
of  the  South,  juggled  the  whole  conclave  of  the  delegates." 
Before  all  was  over,  however,  there  was  an  almost  open  diffi 
culty  in  the  hall.  Several  leading  men  withdrew  for  several 
days  ;  and  it  was  only  by  compromising  matters  that  the 
names  of  all  the  delegates  were  finally  affixed  to  the  associa 
tion.  These  things  were  kept  from  the  public  as  carefully 


STATE  OF  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS.  53 

as  possible,  and  a  general  assertion  of  unanimity  in  all  its 
doings  put  forth  by  congress.  But  something  must  have 
leaked  out  at  the  time. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  the  local  gentry  invited  the 
fifty  or  sixty  delegates  to  an  entertainment  at  the  State 
House,  "  where  they  were  received  by  a  very  large  com 
pany,  composed  of  the  clergy,  such  genteel  strangers  as 
happened  to  be  in  town,  and  a  number  of  respectable  citi 
zens,"  making  in  the  whole  about  five  hundred  persons.  If 
Andre  were  then  in  the  city,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  would  be  of  the  "  genteel  strangers  "  bidden  to  such 
a  scene  ;  and  the  proceedings  of  the  occasion,  so  far  as  they 
may  be  pronounced  upon  from  the  toast-master's  roll,  must 
have  possessed  for  him  an  interest  beyond  that  of  a  common 
political  dinner.  The  King,  the  Queen,  the  Royal  Family, 
were  duly  pledged ;  and  then  came  the  names  of  the  party- 
leaders  on  either  side  of  the  water :  Chatham,  Richmond, 
Conway,  and  Burke ;  Hancock,  Franklin,  and  Sawbridge. 
Of  course,  there  was  much  said  of  the  cause  that  had  brought 
them  together,  and  of  their  determination  to  preserve  the 
union  of  the  colonies  and  their  constitutional  freedom.  Two 
toasts  had  interest  for  any  military  guest:  "No  unconsti 
tutional  standing  armies,"  and  "  May  British  swords  never 
be  drawn  in  defence  of  tyranny  " ;  but  the  general  tone  of 
the  whole  affair  indicated  clearly  the  public  intent  to  adhere 
to  demands  which  England  would  not  grant,  and  to  resist  the 
application  of  laws  which  England  was  apparently  resolved 
to  enforce.  The  inference  was  easy.  If  neither  party  re 
ceded,  hostilities  were  imminent.  And  on  the  ensuing  day 
a  practical  commentary  was  offered  in  the  breaking  open,  by 
a  mob,  of  the  warehouse  in  which  the  collector  of  the  cus 
toms  had  just  stored  a  cargo  of  smuggled  sugars  which  he 
had  seized,  and  their  restoration  to  the  importer.  All  this 
was  effected  in  comparative  openness,  nor  was  any  punish 
ment  inflicted  on  the  offenders.  It  is  true  that,  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  smuggling  was  then  regarded  as  a  dangerous 


54  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

rather  than  an  immoral  practice  ;  and  that  in  England,  even 
ten  years  later,  it  was  so  hardily  pursued  that  near  Falmouth 
a  battery  was  erected  to  cover  the  landing-place,  the  guns  of 
which  were  opened  on  a  king's  ship  standing  in ;  but  at  the 
same  time  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  magistrates  and 
people  was  there  ready  to  obey  and  to  enforce  the  laws  than 
in  this  country,  where  nearly  all  the  merchants  were  en 
gaged  in  illicit  trade,  and  where  the  popular  sentiment  re 
garded  with  abhorrence  any  attempt  from  the  mother-coun 
try  at  its  restraint. 

Of  all  these  things  we  may  be  sure  that  Andre  took  good 
heed ;  for  that  he  was  now  on  a  tour  of  observation  through 
what  was  almost  an  enemy's  country  cannot  be  doubted,  if 
we  consider  that,  in  addition  to  selecting  a  port  so  remote 
as  Philadelphia  from  his  ultimate  destination,  he  left  that 
city  to  visit  Gage's  camp  at  Boston,  instead  of  repairing  at 
once  to  his  regiment  in  Canada.  This  expedition  led  him 
through  an  important  section  of  the  country,  and  gave  him 
ample  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  complexion  of  popular 
feeling.  There  were  then  two  public  conveyances  between 
Philadelphia  and  New  York :  a  line  of  stages  had  been  es 
tablished  in  1773,  and  the  Flying  Machine  had  been  in  ope 
ration  several  years  longer.  This  last  should  rather  have 
been  called  the  Diving  Machine,  since  it  had  managed  to 
drown,  among  others,  one  of  the  earliest  and  best  actresses 
that  appealed  in  America,  by  oversetting  in  the  ferry  be 
tween  New  York  and  Staten  Island  ;  but  by  neither  carriage 
was  the  journey  between  the  two  cities  performed  in  less 
than  two  days.  Passing  through  Jersey,  then,  he  might 
have  perceived  symptoms  of  the  prevailing  strong  whig 
feeling  and  turbulent  spirit ;  and  arriving  at  New  York, 
may  have  procured  some  discouraging  information  from  his 
brother  officers  stationed  there.  The  King's  Birthday  in 
1774  had  been  duly  celebrated  indeed  by  the  23rd  regiment, 
and  what  other  military  were  at  New  York  ;  but  by  the  peo 
ple  generally  was  passed  over  almost  unnoticed.  The  active 


STATE  OF  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS.  55 

whigs,  under  the  name  of  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  led  an  organ 
ized  mob  ;  and  their  conflicts  with  the  soldiery  were  frequent 
and  bitter.  Under  their  auspices  liberty-poles  were  erected, 
obnoxious  characters  hung  in  effigy,  and  instant  revenge 
taken  for  the  impressment  of  sailors  by  a  ship-of-war.  Re 
ligion  and  Freedom  were  the  watchwords  of  the  hour,  and 
the  power  and  license  of  the  Liberty  Boys  threatened  to 
carry  everything  before  them.  The  gentry  in  opposition, 
writes  Gouverneur  Morris,  had  started  the  mob,  for  their 
own  purposes,  in  Grenville's  time,  and  now — "the  heads 

of  the  mobility  grow  dangerous  to  the  gentry The 

mob  begin  to  think  and  reason.  Poor  reptiles !  it  is  with 
them  a  vernal  morning :  they  are  struggling  to  cast  off  their 
winter's  slough  ;  they  bask  in  the  sunshine,  and  ere  noon 
they  will  bite,  depend  upon  it.  The  gentry  begin  to  fear 
this."  It  must,  nevertheless,  be  confessed  that,  however  un 
lawful  it  may  have  been,  the  action  of  the  whigs  of  New 
York  at  this  time,  in  preventing  any  workmen  or  stores  being 
transmitted  to  Gage  at  Boston,  was  of  real  service  to  the 
American  cause ;  and  there  is  nothing  to  wonder  at  in  the 
turbulence  of  the  people,  considering  the  encouragement 
they  had  received  in  such  scenes  ever  since  the  period  of 
the  Stamp  Act. 

From  New  York  to  Boston  the  traveller  in  those  days 
usually  passed  upon  horseback  ;  either  going  through  Con 
necticut,  or  by  way  of  Long  Island  to  New  London,  and  so  on 
wards.  It  matters  little  which  route  Andre  followed,  so  far  as 
the  temper  of  the  people  was  concerned.  From  the  moment 
he  entered  New  England,  he  probably  encountered  none  but 
ardent  whigs;  and  as  greater  unanimity  and  more  demo 
cratic  habits  prevailed,  so  was  the  public  mind  more  inflamed 
than  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  Through  the  summer 
and  fall  of  1774,  the  Connecticut  farmers  had  not  been  spar 
ing  in  their  demonstrations.  At  Farmington  the  Boston 
Port  Bill  was  burned  by  the  hangman.  At  Windham  and 
Norwich,  a  merchant  from  Boston  named  Green,  suspected  of 


56  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

loyalty  and  known  to  be  in  pursuit  of  his  debts,  was  mobbed 
and  driven  from  the  town.  At  Bolton,  the  clergyman  was 
rudely  dealt  with,  who  had  proclaimed  that  the  true  reason 
for  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  the  East  India  Com 
pany's  tea  was,  that  since  the  tea  was  sold  at  Amsterdam  for 
Is.  and  at  London  and  Boston  for  2s.  Qd.,  it  followed  that 
Colonel  Hancock  gained  Is.  lOd.  by  every  pound  of  tea  he 
smuggled  in  from  Holland,  while  Colonel  Erving  gained  but 
Qd.  by  every  pound  he  sold  from  the  Company.  And  as 
this  private  interest,  he  argued,  had  caused  the  destruction 
of  the  tea  in  Boston  harbor,  he  proposed  that  the  traders 
with  Holland  there  should  pay  the  damages  out  of  the  profits 
from  the  five  thousand  boxes  of  Dutch  teas  they  had  sold 
within  two  years.  In  short,  although  there  were  a  good 
many  tories  in  Connecticut,  the  rule  was  to  tar  and  feather 
all  who  made  themselves  prominent,  save  only  in  the  few 
towns  where  this  party  happened  to  be  the  strongest.  But 
if  any  luckless  tory  wight  was  caught  beyond  the  reach  of 
his  friendly  neighbors,  he  was  forthwith  seized  and  led  from 
town  to  town,  "  as  by  law  is  provided  in  the  case  of  strolling 
ideots,  lunatics,"  &c.  And  so  in  Rhode  Island  :  —  at  Prov 
idence,  a  public  meeting  requested  the  authorities  to  ex 
pel  the  friends  of  the  ministry ;  in  other  places,  the  whigs 
took  the  law  into  their  own  hands.  Through  all  New  Eng 
land,  the  indisposition  to  English  sway  in  any  form  or  under 
any  circumstances,  was  daily  more  plainly  to  be  recognized  ; 
and  by  the  time  Andre  reached  Boston,  he  must  have  per 
ceived  that  an  insurrection  was  almost  inevitable. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Political  Condition  of  Massachusetts  in  1774.  —  State  of  Affairs  at  Boston. 

THE  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  more  especially 
the  town  of  Boston,  contained  at  this  moment  perhaps  the 
most  excited  and  the  least  loyal  portion  of  the  king's  Amer 
ican  subjects.  The  peculiar  characteristics  of  this  people 
had  long  led  observers  to  believe,  that  the  colony  was  im 
patient  of  any  yoke  ;  and  certainly  neither  their  traditions 
nor  their  democratical  forms  of  government  and  of  social  life 
could  have  inspired  them  with  any  very  fervent  attachment 
to  the  home  authority.  The  fall  of  Canada  had  removed  the 
strong  bond  of  fear,  that  once  formed  a  part  of  the  ties  that 
united  them  with  England  ;  and  the  whig  leaders  already,  to 
a  greater  extent  than  in  any  other  part  of  America,  looked 
forward  to  independence.  Untrammelled  in  almost  every 
practical  sense,  their  commerce  had  long  been  carried  on 
with  scanty  regard  to  the  interests  of  Britain  ;  and  now  that 
it  was  sought  to  enforce  the  old,  or  to  bring  new  restrictive 
laws  to  bear  on  their  trade,  the  people  were  thoroughly  in 
flamed.  Bold,  acquisitive,  hardy,  and  astute,  they  revolted 
at  the  prospect  of  diminished  gains  ;  fond  of  power,  they 
would  not  endure  the  loss  of  a  tittle  of  authority  they  had 
once  possessed.  This  disposition  was  well  understood  by  its 
chief  men,  who  foresaw  the  inevitable  result,  and,  like  Moses 
on  the  mountain-side,  looked  forth  to  the  promised  land 
which,  denied  to  their  own  feet,  was  yet  to  be  trodden  by 
their  kindred.  "  Our  fathers  were  a  good  people,"  wrote 
Otis  to  England  ;  "  we  have  been  a  free  people  ;  and  if  you 
will  not  let  us  remain  so  any  longer,  we  will  be  a  great 
people."  Thus  already  prepared  to  resent  the  measures  of 


58  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AKDRF.. 

government,  they  derived  new  zeal  from  the  counsels  of  their 
spiritual  guides.  Great  as  is  still  the  influence  in  secular 
matters  of  the  clergy  of  New  England,  it  was  then  enormous ; 
and  in  political  controversies  was  exercised  even  more  power 
fully  than  to-day,  and  more  openly.  In  every  ordinary  ac 
tion  of  life,  it  was  usual  to  join  the  world's  business  with 
religious  duty ;  and  where  the  force  of  conscience  failed,  the 
effect  of  long  continued  habit  controlled  the  conduct  of  men.* 
And  the  clergy  of  New  England,  naturally  disturbed  at  the 
increase,  under  quasi-royal  protection,  of  prelatic  forms  of 
worship,  and  professionally  vexed  at  the  division  of  their 
power  with  a  growing  rival,  were  of  one  voice  in  their  argu 
ments.  Thus,  while  we  find  the  churchman  of  New  England 
almost  universally  to  have  been  a  tory,  the  Congregational- 
ists,  and  whosoever  adhered  to  the  Calvinistic  forms  of  wor- 


*  A  conversation  between  James  Otis  and  a  member  of  the  Assembly 
from  Boston,  (apparently  Thomas  dishing,)  "in  which  the  satire,"  says 
Mr.  Tudor,  "  if  it  bears  a  little  hard  on  the  character  of  those  times,  is  not 
wholly  inapplicable  to  most  others,"  will  better  exemplify  this  position. 
Otis  observed,  "  They  talk  of  sending  me  to  the  next  General  Court." 

—  "  You  will  never  succeed  in  the  General  Court."  —  "Not  succeed!  and 
why  not,  pray?  "  —  "  Why,  Mr.  Otis,  you  have  ten  times  the  learning,  and 
much  greater  abilities  than  I  have,  but  you  know  nothing  of  human  na 
ture."  —  "  Indeed !  I  wish  you  would  give  me  some  lessons."  —  "  Be  patient, 
and  I  will  do  so  with  pleasure.     In  the  first  place,  what  meeting  do  you  go 
to?  "  —  "  Dr.  Sewall's."  —  "  Very  well,  you  must  stand  up  in  sermon  time, 
you  must  look  devout  and  deeply  attentive.   Do  you  have  family  prayers?  " 

—  "  Xo."  —  "  It  were  well  if  you  did;  what  does  your  family  consist  of  ?  " 

—  "  AVhy,  only  four  or  five  commonly;  but  at  this  time  I  have  one  of  Dr. 
Sewall's  saints,  who  is  a  nurse  of  my  wife."  —  "  Ah  !  that  is  the  very  thing : 
you  must  talk  religion  with  her  in  a  serious  manner;  you  must  have  family 
prayers  at  least  once  while  she  is  in  your  house :  that  woman  can  do  you 
more  harm  or  good  than  any  other  person:    she  will  spread  your  fame 
throughout  the  congregation.     I  can  also  tell  you,  by  way  of  example, 
some  of  the  steps  I  take :  two  or  three  weeks  before  an  election  comes  on, 
I  send  to  the  cooper  and  get  all  my  casks  put  in  order;  I  say  nothing  about 
the  number  of  hoops.     I  send  to  the  mason  and  have  some  job  done  to  the 
hearths  or  the  chimneys;  I  have  the  carpenter  to  make  some  repairs  in  the 
roof  or  the  wood-house;  I  often  go  down  to  the  ship-yards  about  eleven 
o'clock,  when  they  break  off  to  take  their  drink,  and  enter  into  conversa 
tion  with  them.     They  all  vote  for  me."  —  (  Tudor' 's  Otis,  p.  91.) 


POLITICAL  CONDITION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  IN  1774.    59 

ship  as  practised  in  that  country,  were  as  universally  whig*. 
The  former  was  self-confident  and  elate  with  the  pride  of  a 
superior  rank  ;'  the  latter  jealously  indignant,  and  fearful  of 
the  establishment  of  an  American  episcopacy.  This  was  a 
favorite  bugbear.  Among  the  lower  classes  the  most  dread 
ful  apprehensions  of  bishops  prevailed  ;  they  were  esteemed 
as  little  differing  from  demons  ;  and  the  children  wept  as 
they  listened  to  the  tale  that,  among  other  perquisites  of 
episcopacy,  every  tenth-born  child  should  be  ravished  from 
its  mother's  side ;  and  were  fain  to  pray,  that  death  might 
fall  upon  them  so  soon  as  a  bishop's  foot  pressed  New  Eng 
land  soil.  Intelligent  and  educated  striplings  thought  it  their 
bounden  duty  to  God  to  be  ready  to  slay  the  first  prelate 
that  should  arrive.  With  these  sentiments,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  Episcopalians  were  closely  watched,  and  such  of  their 
chief  men  as  were  not  openly  whigs,  put  under  restraint  at 
an  early  stage  in  the  troubles ;  nor  that  hatred  of  the  state 
of  England  was  soon  mingled  with  that  of  its  church.  No 
stronger  evidence  of  the  coincidence  of  political  and  religious 
feeling  in  this  crisis  can  be  found,  than  is  presented  by  the 
address  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  wherein 
the  people  of  New  England  are  described  as  a  church 
against  which  earth  and  hell  had  combined.  They  were 
moved  by  one  religion,  one  cause  ;  and  the  number  of  those 
who  disagreed  with  them  was  too  slight  to  militate  against 
their  proposition.  And  in  truth,  it  seems  but  reasonable 
that  the  New  England  clergy  should  have  resisted  the  intro 
duction  of  episcopal  supremacy,  if  such  a  design  existed  any 
where  but  in  the  hopes  or  the  fears  of  the  colonists.  The 
land  belonged  to  them  and  to  their  flocks ;  and  it  would  have 
been  utterly  unjust  to  have  subjected  it  to  the  spiritual  dom 
ination  of  a  church  abhorred  by  the  people  at  large.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  their  pulpits  volleyed  forth  the  most  bitter 
imprecations  against  England,  and  that  their  prayers  invoked 
the  Almighty  to  shatter  her  ships  against  the  rocks,  and  to 
drown  her  armies  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  "  Oh  Lord," 


60  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

prayed  a  fervent  divine,  "  if  our  enemies  will  fight  us,  let 
them  have  fighting  en6ugh  !  If  more  soldiers  are  on  their 
way  hither,  send  them,  oh  Lord  !  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 
Impelled  thus  by  their  original  inclinations,  stimulated  by 
their  clergy,  and  dexterously  guided  by  astute  leaders,  the 
people  presented  a  front  that  no  royal  governor  could  repel 
or  confuse.  It  was  then  that  what  is  now  called  a  caucus 
system  was  first  brought  into  practical  use,  through  the  skill 
of  Samuel  Adams  and  some  other  whig  leaders.  Before  any 
public  meeting  of  importance  came  off,  the  measures  and 
men  to  be  supported  were  carefully  but  secretly  decided 
upon  by  a  council  of  three  or  four  chiefs.  The  combination 
of  their  personal  adherents  at  the  meeting  was  generally  suf 
ficient  to  decide  the  question,  and  to  give  the  tone  to  its  pro 
ceedings  ;  while  any  opposition  was  effectually  quashed  by  a 
lack  of  union  or  preparation  among  their  adversaries. 

The  appointment  of  General  Gage  to  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  would,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  have 
been  an  advantage  to  both  crown  and  people.  His  poli 
tics,  so  far  as  we  know,  were  not  harsh;  —  on  the  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  in  1769,  his  mansion  at  New  York  was  bril 
liantly  illuminated ; —  and  he  had  chosen  a  wife  in  this  coun 
try.  In  a  military  sense,  he  must  have  been  familiar  with  the 
land  ;  for  so  long  before  as  1755  he  had  led  the  44th  regiment 
under  Braddock,  and  been  wounded  by  the  side  of  Washing 
ton.  But  the  leaders  of  the  whigs  now  saw  in  his  appoint 
ment  a  diabolical  design,  amounting  to  more  than  a  studied 
insult  to  the  province.  The  Port  Bill  had  been  received  at 
Boston  on  the  10th  of  May,  1774.  Gage  arrived  on  the 
13th  ;  and  on  the  same  day  a  town-meeting  displayed  a  firm 
and  unconciliatory  temper.  On  the  17th,  Gage  was  formally 
proclaimed ;  but  even  at  the  banquet  in  Faneuil  Hall,  which 
formed  part  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  day,  the  disposition 
of  the  people  was  displayed  by  the  hisses  with  which  they 
greeted  his  toast  to  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Hutchinson.  Yet, 
though  he  was  thus  early  warned  of  the  popular  tendency, 


POLITICAL  CONDITION  OF  MASSACHUSETTS   IN   1774.    61 

and  though  he  never  concealed  the  condition  of  things 
from  himself  or  his  superiors,  his  letters  to  Lord  Dartmouth 
through  the  summer  and  fall  of  1774  were  calm,  and  often 
hopeful.  Things  were  always  worse  than  when  he  wrote 
last ;  but  ere  he  wrote  again,  they  would  probably  be  on  the 
mend.  Thus  it  came  that  little  reliance  was  placed  on  his 
reports ;  and  the  opposition  openly  declared  that  he  had  de 
ceived  ministers.  "  No  event  has  turned  out  as  he  foretold, 
or  gave  reason  to  hope  ;  the  next  letter  constantly  contradicts 
the  expectation  raised  by  the  former."  But  he  soon  saw  that 
the  civil  government  of  the  province  was  nearly  at  an  end. 
The  courts  of  justice  were  little  more  than  a  puppet-show ; 
the  judges  were  driven  from  the  bench,  and  the  juries  re 
fused  to  be  sworn.  Almost  within  cannon-shot  of  Boston, 
thousands  of  people  surrounded  the  house  of  Oliver,  the  lieu 
tenant-governor,  and  by  force  compelled  him  to  sign  such 
political  papers  as  they  chose.  Dan  forth,  Lee,  and  other 
members  of  the  council,  were  similarly  handled.  The  leg 
islature  too  had,  in  May,  almost  ignored  the  existence  of  a 
royal  governor,  and,  despite  his  proclamation  of  dissolution, 
had  provided  for  a  provincial  congress.  The  ancient  form  of 
civil  government  was  indeed  dead,  for  the  General  Court 
never  met  more,  and  the  power  of  the  colony  was  to  be  di 
vided  between  a  royal  governor  and  a  rebel  legislature  till 
Massachusetts  became  an  independent  state.  In  October, 
1774,  twelve  out  of  fourteen  counties  sent  representatives  to 
this  provincial  congress,  at  Salem  ;  and  it  forthwith  proceeded 
to  act  in  every  respect  as  the  lawful  government  of  the  land ; 
making  provision  for  raising,  arming,  and  controlling  an 
army  ;  and  regulating  the  police  of  the  province,  and  its  in 
tercourse  with  others.  One  of  the  first  questions  broached 
was  that  of  negro  slavery  ;  and  a  letter  directed  to  the  chap 
lain  was  read,  asking  whether,  when  the  masters  were  strug 
gling  for  freedom,  their  slaves  should  not  share  their  lot.  But 
after  debate,  it  was  moved  that  "  the  matter  now  subside ; "  and 
it  subsided  accordingly.  Their  aim  seems  to  have  been  to 


62  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRfi. 

look  exclusively  to  the  main  point,  and  to  ignore  {ill  others. 
Thus,  in  December,  1774,  when  the  Baptist  churches  sought 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  procuring  religious 
liberty,  they  were  gracefully  put  aside  by  the  congress.  And 
though  rumor  alleged  that  at  the  same  time  it  refused  to 
direct  the  immediate  taking  up  of  arms  against  the  king's 
troops  until  the  other  colonies  could  be  involved,  yet  it  went 
on  accumulating  guns  and  ammunition,  and  electing  generals. 
In  all  that  it  did  it  had  the  support  of  the  people.  They 
who  opposed  its  action  were  far  more  respectable  in  social 
rank  than  in  numbers.  Putnam  and  Willard,  Saltonstall, 
Vassall,  and  Borland,  Fitch,  Stark,  Ruggles,  and  Babcock,  in 
vain  sought  by  their  character  and  authority  to  stay  the  tide. 
These  were,  it  is  true,  of  the  first  position  in  the  colony  ;  but 
the  day  was  gone  when  they  were  to  command  respect  and 
obedience.  When  they  formed  associations  for  mutual  pro 
tection  in  "  the  free  exercise  of  their  right  of  liberty  in  eat 
ing,  drinking,  buying,  selling,  communing,  and  acting  what, 
with  whom,  and  as  they  pleased,  consistent  with  God's  law 
and  the  King's,"  they  were  soon  broken  up  and  driven  into 
Boston,  where  Gage's  troops  protected  them  from  violence. 
"  The  tories,"  wrote  one  from  Boston  in  the  summer  of  1774, 
"  lead  a  devil  of  a  life ;  in  the  country  the  people  will  not 
grind  their  corn,  and  in  town  they  refuse  to  purchase  from 
and  sell  to  them."  An  obnoxious  character  might  look  for 
any  injury,  from  having  his  cattle  taken  or  barns  burned,  up 
to  personal  indignities.  Willard  going  to  recover  a  debt, 
was  mobbed  and  sent  to  the  Simsbury  mines ;  Davis  was 
tarred  and  feathered ;  Ruggles  was  mobbed  and  driven  from 
the  county ;  Paine  and  Chandler  met  with  little  better  usage  ; 
and  that  "  ancient  gentleman,"  as  Gage  calls  him,  "  Thomas 
Foster,  Esquire,  was  obliged  to  run  into  the  woods  and  had 
like  to  have  been  lost."  In  short,  the  province  was  almost 
exclusively  possessed  by  an  organized  party,  who  revenged 
themselves  on  the  British  Parliament  in  ill-treating  every  one 
that  did  not  embrace  whig  principles.  "  There  is  something 


STATE  OF  AFFAIRS  AT  BOSTON.  63 

extremely  absurd,"  said  an  American  at  this  date,  who  avows 
his  intention  of  eschewing  politics  as  though  they  were  edged 
tools,  "in  some  men's  eternally  declaiming  on  freedom  of 
thought,  and  the  unalienable  rights  of  Englishmen,  when 
they  will  not  permit  an  opponent  to  open  his  mouth  on  the 
subjects  in  dispute,  without  danger  of  being  presented  with  a 
coat  of  tar  and  feathers."  "  The  very  cause  for  wrhich  the 
whigs  contended,"  says  another  who  himself  gallantly  fought 
for  American  independence,  u  was  essentially  that  of  freedom, 
and  yet  all  the  freedom  it  granted  was,  at  the  peril  of  tar  and 
feathers,  to  think  and  act  like  themselves."  With  equal 
animosity  the  whigs  of  the  province  regarded  Gage.  They 
burned  the  forage  coming  to  Boston  for  his  troops,  and  sunk 
the  boats  which  brought  bricks  for  his  use.  Beyond  the 
sound  of  his  drum-beat,  armed  resistance  was  openly  plan 
ned:  magazines  were  established,  exercises  in  arms  set  on 
foot,  and  weapons  and  ammunition  of  every  sort,  good  or  bad, 
eagerly  sought  after  by  the  people.  Gage's  conclusion  was 
that  the  object  of  the  whig  leaders  was  to  provoke  a  collis 
ion  and  precipitate  a  war ;  and  he  therefore  did  not  fail  to 
strengthen  his  hands  for  an  occasion  which,  it  is  fair  to  be 
lieve,  he  would  most  gladly  have  averted.  By  the  time  An 
dre  arrived  at  Boston  there  must  have  been  three  thousand 
troops  gathered  there,  besides  a  regiment  in  garrison  at  Cas 
tle  William ;  and  from  several  men-of-war  in  the  harbor 
four  hundred  marines  were  drawn  early  in  December,  led  by 
Pitcairne,  a  descendant  of  the  classical  panegyrist  of  Dundee, 
and  equally  loyal  as  his  ancestor,  though  to  another  line. 
His  name  is  celebrated  in  America  by  his  connection  with 
the  first  blood  shed  in  the  Revolution,  which  his  death  at 
Bunker  Hill  perhaps  expiated.  If  we  are  to  credit  M.  de 
Chastellux,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  traversing  the  country  in 
disguise  and  bringing  in  intelligence  to  Gage. 

The  condition  of  the  troops  was  not  pleasant.  They  were 
constantly  insulted  or  tampered  with  by  the  Americans,  to 
whom  their  presence  was  an  insufferable  nuisance.  Deser- 


64  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR&. 

tions  were  privately  encouraged ;  and  before  the  war  began, 
scarce  an  organized  American  military  company  was  without 
its  drill-master  in  the  person  of  an  English  fugitive.  Wash 
ington's  men  at  Alexandria,  and  Greene's  in  Rhode  Island, 
were  thus  taught  their  manual.  This  seduction  of  troops,  and 
the  allurements  held  out  to  the  men  to  sell  their  equipments, 
added  fresh  fuel  to  the  growing  hatred  between  both  parties  ; 
and  frequent  affrays  occurred  between  the  soldiers  and  the 
citizens.  It  was  probably  for  some  flagrant  annoyance  of 
this  kind  that  Dyre,  a  man  known  as  active  in  previous 
disturbances,  was  seized  and  sent  in  irons  to  England  in 
1774.  He  averred  that  Maddison,  who  seems  to  have  ques 
tioned  him  pretty  roughly  as  to  the  orders  he  might  have  re 
ceived  for  the  destruction  of  the  tea  from  "  King  Hancock 
and  the  d — d  Sons  of  Liberty,"  promised  him,  that  once 
arrived  in  England,  "  he  should  be  hung  like  a  dog  "  ;  but 
the  more  temperate  of  the  whigs  seem  to  have  thought  him 
an  untruthful  fellow  ;  and  all  the  trouble  he  was  put  to  there 
was  to  be  examined  by  North,  Dartmouth,  and  Sandwich,  and 
so  discharged.  But  sometimes  the  soldiers  settled  the  mat 
ter  themselves ;  and  having  fairly  caught  in  the  act  a  whig 
tempting  them  to  sell  their  arms,  tarred  and  feathered  him 
thoroughly,  and  paraded  him,  to  the  air  of  Yankee  Doodle,  as 
"  a  specimen  of  Democracy."  The  example  of  the  officers, 
too,  was  frequently  anything  but  praiseworthy.  Entertain 
ments  and  dances  were  given  on  Saturday  night  and  carried 
on  into  Sunday  morning.  Such  things  had  never  occurred 
in  Boston  before,  and  gave  great  offence.  Nor  was  it  un 
usual  for  a  bevy  of  drunken  officers  to  commit  the  grossest 
indecencies  and  outrages  in  the  public  streets  ;  and  violent 
affrays,  in  which  they  generally  came  off  second-best,  were 
the  natural  consequence.  Of  course,  all  these  occurrences 
were  perfectly  adapted  to  inflame  the  people's  anger,  and  to 
stimulate  fresh  invectives  against  Gage.  It  is  true  that  he 
gave  a  ready  ear  to  every  complaint  against  his  subordinates, 
and  seldom  hesitated  to  punish ;  but  he  was  upbraided,  nev- 


STATE  OF  AFFAIRS  AT  BOSTON.         65 

ertheless,  as  the  modern  Duke  of  Alva,  as  the  tyrant  of  the 
town  ;  and  in  the  worst  possible  taste  was  told,  that  "  the 
savages  who  chased  him  on  the  Ohio  were  gentle  as  lambs, 
compared  with  men  bereaved  of  their  liberties."  The  dan 
gerous  aspect  of  affairs  soon  led  him  to  strengthen  the  old, 
and  erect  new  works  to  protect  the  only  part  of  his  province 
that  remained  in  good  earnest  subject  to  his  control ;  and  the 
sole  communication  between  Boston  and  the  main  was  guard 
ed  by  substantial  redoubts.  This  was  a  great  grievance  both 
to  the  Massachusetts  and  the  Continental  Congress,  who  saw 
in  the  fortifications  a  design  to  awe  the  country  and  enslave 
the  town ;  but  Gage  very  prudently  refused  to  comply  with 
a  request  for  their  reduction.  "  Unless  themselves  an 
noyed,"  he  said,  "  the  works  which  you  call  a  Fortress  will 
annoy  nobody."  In  private,  however,  the  Americans  ridi 
culed  these  preparations.  "  The  country  lads,"  said  Lovell, 
"  were  minded  to  fill  the  trenches  with  bundles  of  hay,  and 
thus  enter  securely  " ;  and  Appleton  protested  that  the  old 
Louisbourg  soldiers  laughed  at  the  entrenchments,  and  would 
regard  them  no  more  than  a  beaver-dam.  Nevertheless  the 
British  occupied  Boston  sixteen  months  longer,  and  no  at 
tempt  was  ever  made  to  put  these  threats  into  execution. 

About  the  period  of  Andre's  visit,  towards  the  close  of 
1774,  the  army  at  Boston  was  well  handled.  It  was  brig 
aded  under  Percy,  Pigot,  and  Jones,  and  a  field-officer  with 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men  guarded  the  lines  on  the  Neck. 
Their  duties  confined  the  officers  to  circumscribed  bounds  ; 
but  the  beautiful  appearance  of  the  surrounding  country  was 
not  lost  on  them.  "  The  entrance  to  the  harbour,"  wrote 
Captain  (afterwards  Lord)  Harris,  "  and  the  view  of  the 
town  of  Boston  from  it,  is  the  most  charming  thing  I  ever 

saw My    tent-door,    about   twenty   yards   from    a 

piece  of  water  nearly  a  mile  broad,  with  the  country  beyond 
most  beautifully  tumbled  about  in  hills  and  valleys,  rocks 
and  woods,  interspersed  with  straggling  villages,  with  here 
and  there  a  spire  peeping  over  the  trees,  and  the  country  of 
5 


66  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRlL 

the  most  charming  green  that  delighted  eye  ever  gazed  on. 
Pity  these  infatuated  people  cannot  be  content  to  enjoy  such 
a  country  in  peace  ! "  But  of  these  scenes  beyond  the  lines 
the  troops  could  have  no  nearer  acquaintance.  From  the  au 
tumn  of  1774,  it  was  not  safe  for  any  ministerialist,  military 
or  civil,  to  be  found  out  of  Boston,  where  Gage  remained 
almost  in  a  state  of  siege,  yet  with  few  of  its  discomforts. 
The  Americans  might  cut  off  the  supplies  of  beef  and  mut 
ton,  and  occasionally  reduce  the  officers  to  salted  diet ;  but 
the  temptation  of  gain  led  them  to  smuggle  in  fresh  pro 
visions.  All  sorts,  the  officers  wrote,  were  plenty  there,  and 
cheaper  than  in  London,  though  prices  had  risen  with  the 
demand.  "  The  saints  "  were  beginning  to  relish  the  money 
spent  in  Boston ;  and  the  only  regret  to  the  spenders  was  the 
enriching  of  a  set  of  people  who,  in  their  eyes,  "  with  the 
most  austere  show  of  devotion,  were  void  of  all  real  religion 
and  honesty,  and  were  reckoned  the  most  arrant  cheats  and 
hypocrites  on  the  continent."  — "  In  some  respects,"  writes  an 
officer,  "  our  camp  might  as  well  have  been  pitched  on  Black- 
heath  as  on  Boston  Common  ;  the  women  are  very  handsome, 
but  like  old  mother  Eve,  very  frail  "  ;  and  in  social  refine 
ments,  the  country  was  a  hundred  years  behind  England. 
In  short,  it  is  clear  that  the  dislike  of  the  provincials  was 
amply  returned  by  the  British,  chafing  at  the  scoffs  which 
they  received,  and  the  indignity  of  remaining  cooped  up  in 
the  presence  of  an  antagonist  whom  they  despised.  For  by 
many  it  was  thought  that  the  proceedings  of  congress  were 
designed  merely  to  intimidate  the  merchants  in  England, 
and  that  America  would  never  be  so  mad  as  to  take  up 
arms.  "  Whenever  it  comes  to  blows,  he  that  can  run  fast 
est  will  think  himself  best  off,"  said  the  officers  at  Boston. 
"  Any  two  regiments  here  ought  to  be  decimated  if  they  did 
not  beat,  in  the  field,  the  whole  force  of  the  Massachusetts 
Province  ;  for  though  they  are  numerous,  they  are  but  a 
mere  mob,  without  order  or  discipline,  and  very  awkward  at 
handling  their  arms."  That  it  would  have  to  come  to  blows 


STATE  OF  AFFAIES  AT  BOSTON.         67 

was  now  perceived.  "  I  see  some  pretty  resolves  from  Con 
cord."  wrote  Admiral  Montagu,  "  and  the  proceedings  from 
Philadelphia  all  seem  to  go  on  well  for  a  Civil  War."  And 
again  —  "I  doubt  not  but  that  I  shall  hear  Mr.  Samuel 
Adams  is  hanged  or  shot  before  many  months  are  at  an  end. 
I  hope  so  at  least."  *  Nor  was  the  language  in  which  they 
were  spoken  of  by  the  friends  of  America  in  England  very 
conciliatory.  "  A  mere  army  of  observation,"  said  Burke; 
"  its  only  use  was  to  shelter  the  magistrates  of  ministerial  cre 
ation  "  ;  while  Chatham  characterized  them  as  "  an  impotent 
general  and  a  dishonoured  army,  trusting  solely  to  the  pickaxe 
and  the  spade  for  security  against  the  just  indignation  of  an 
injured  and  an  insulted  people."  —  "They  are  an  army  of 
impotence,"  he  repeated,  in  reference  to  Gage's  inactivity. 
"  I  do  not  mean  to  censure  his  inactivity  ;  it  is  prudent  and 
necessary  inaction.  But  it  is  a  miserable  condition,  where 
disgrace  is  prudence  ;  and  where  it  is  necessary  to  be  con 
temptible."  Even  the  political  rhymesters,  with  Lord  John 
Townshend  at  their  head,  found  occasion  to  celebrate  the 
sources  of  ministerial  embarrassment.  Thus  the  latter  ad 
dresses  the  pious  Dartmouth:  — 

"  The  saints,  alas !  have  waxen  strong ; 
In  vain  your  fasts  and  godly  song 

To  quell  the  rebel  rout ! 
Within  his  lives  skulks  valiant  Gage, 
Like  Yorick's  starling  in  the  cage 

He  cries, '  I  can't  get  out ! '  " 

*  The  British  seem  to  have  believed  that  Samuel  Adams  was  their  most 
powerful  and  unscrupulous  foe  in  the  province.  In  March,  1775,  one  of  them 
wrote  that  when  Dr.  Warren  had  pronounced,  in  the  Old  South  meeting 
house,  an  oration  in  commemoration  of  what  was  absurdly  called  a  Massacre, 
Mr.  Adams  demanded  that  the  meeting  name  an  orator  for  the  next  anniver 
sary  of  "  the  bloody  and  horrid  massacre  perpetrated  by  Preston's  soldiers." 
Several  royal  officers  were  present  to  discountenance  the  proceedings ;  and 
one,  "  a  very  genteel,  sensible  officer,  dressed  in  gold-lace  regimentals,  with 
blue  lapels,  moved  with  indignation  at  the  insult  offered  the  Army,  since 
Captain  Preston  had  been  fairly  tried  and  most  honourably  acquitted  by  a 
Boston  Jury,  advanced  to  Hancock  and  Adams,  and  spoke  his  sentiments  to 
them  in  plain  English;  the  latter  told  the  officer  he  knew  him,  and  would 


68  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    AXDR£. 

Cramped  up  thus  within  the  town-limits,  and  deprived  by 
the  countrymen  of  every  means  of  erecting  needful  buildings 
for  their  lodging  or  accommodation,  the  British  were  forced  to 
use  many  liberties  with  the  public  edifices  of  the  place  ;  and 
we  may  be  sure  they  were  little  loath  to  convert  the  South 
Church  into  a  riding-school.  As  it  had  been  employed  by 
the  whigs  for  political  lectures,  it  perhaps  possessed  the  less 
sanctity  in  the  eyes  of  Gage's  followers  ;  but  this  association  of 
religion  and  horses  will  remind  the  reader  of  Constantino's 
adorning  the  hippodrome  of  his  new  capital  with  the  famous 
and  sacred  serpentine  pillar  of  brass,  which  had  for  ages 
commemorated,  at  Delphi,  the  glory  of  Marathon.  Respect 
for  the  creeds  of  others  rarely  clogs  the  action  of  a  power 
either  in  peace  or  in  war. 

The  Americans  had  ample  intelligence  of  all  Gage  did. 
Their  Provincial  Congress  even  sent  in  a  committee  to  ex 
amine  the  surgeon's  stores  with  the  commissary  in  Boston, 
that  they  might,  it  would  seem,  learn  what  to  lay  in  for  their 
own  army.  But  there  was  one  sort  of  military  supply  that, 
on  either  side,  has  since  the  war  been  less  loudly  acknowl 
edged  than  it  was  then  eagerly  sought.  Before  the  first  gun 
was  fired  at  Concord  or  Lexington,  the  Massachusetts  Con 
gress  had  induced  the  Stockbridge  Indians  to  take  up  the 
hatchet,  and  had  regularly  enrolled  them  in  its  army.  The 
chief  sachem,  who  went  by  the  euphonious  title  of  Jehoiakin 
Mothskin,  exchanged  sentiments  with  Mr.  Hancock,  and 
informed  the  Congress  that  if  they  sent  for  him  to  fight, 
they  must  expect  him  to  fight  in  his  own  Indian  way,  and 
not  in  the  English  fashion  ;  all  the  orders  he  wished  was  to 
know  where  the  enemy  lay.  At  the  same  period,  the  Amer 
icans  were  less  successful  in  treating  with  the  Six  Nations, 
the  Penobscots,  Caughnawagas,  &c.,  with  whom  the  English 
had  no  doubt  a  superior  influence.  Their  address  to  the 

settle  the  matter  with  the  General;  the  man  of  honour  replied,  'You  and  I 
must  settle  it  iirst.'  At  this  the  demagogue  turned  pale  and  waived  the  dis 
course."  —  ii.  Am.  Arch,  ith  str.  106. 


STATE  OF  AFFAIRS  AT  BOSTON.         69 

Mohawks  is  very  curious.  One  of  the  motives  urged  to 
induce  the  savage  "  to  whet  his  hatchet "  is  the  probable 
increase  of  popery  in  Canada !  It  is  probable  that  most 
of  these  applications  were  occasioned  by  the  wish  to  keep 
the  frontiers  safe,  and  to  weaken  England ;  but  there 
were  cases  which  such  considerations  could  scarce  have 
reached,  and  where  the  barbarian  was  employed  simply 
as  a  warrior.  "  We  need  not  be  tender  of  calling  on  the 
savages,"  wrote  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  in  June,  1775,  "as 
the  rebels  have  shown  us  the  example  by  bringing  as  many 
Indians  down  against  us  here  as  they  could  collect."  At 
a  later  day  Washington  was  authorized  to  employ  the  In 
dians  in  the  continental  service  at  his  discretion,  and  to 
pay  them  $100  for  every  officer,  and  $30  for  every  pri 
vate  that  they  captured ;  but  the  Massachusetts  Congress 
was  probably  the  first  party  in  the  war  to  bring  them  on 
the  field.  Their  employment  afterwards  by  the  British 
was  made  a  famous  theme  of  reproach,  by  Americans  as 
well  as  Englishmen,  against  Suffolk  who  had  vindicated 
the  step : — 

"We've  flayed  the  virgins,  babes  and  wives, 
With  tomahawks  and  scalping-knives, 
Which  God  and  Nature  gave  us." 

Without  the  means  of  connecting  Andre  directly  with 
any  incident  in  the  occupation  of  Boston,  a  sketch  of  the 
military  features  of  the  place  and  time  has  now  been  given, 
with  intent  to  present  those  points  which  would  most  proba- 
.bly  have  had  a  chief  interest  to  him.  Were  there  any  rea 
son  to  think  that  he  remained  with  Gage  so  late  as  Feb 
ruary,  1775,  he  might  be  suspected  of  a  part  in  some  such 
expedition  as  that  of  Brown  and  De  Berniere,  —  two  officers 
sent  out  in  disguise  by  the  general  to  make  a  reconnaissance 
of  the  country,  through  Suffolk  and  Worcester  counties, 
where  the  whigs  had  their  chief  magazines ;  perhaps  with 
an  eye  to  a  descent.  The  spies  were  selected  apparently 
as  having  recently  arrived  from  Canada,  and  therefore  as 


70  LIFE    OF    MAJOR 

less  apt  to  be  known  as  royal  officers.  They  returned  from 
a  perilous  and  toilsome  journey,  well  supplied  with  plans 
and  sketches  ;  and  a  very  entertaining  report  of  their  expe 
dition  is  preserved.  We  may  imagine  how  Andre's  pencil 
and  pen  would  have  been  busied,  not  only  with  the  more 
legitimate  duty  of  the  occasion,  but  with  such  episodes  as 
the  militia  review  at  Buckminster's  tavern,  which  was  fol 
lowed  by  an  address  from  the  commander,  "recommending 
patience,  coolness,  and  bravery,  (which  indeed  they  much 
needed,)  particularly  told  them  they  would  always  con 
quer  if  they  did  not  break,  and  recommended  them  to 
charge  us  coolly,  and  wait  for  our  fire,  and  everything 
would  succeed  with  them,  —  quotes  Crcsar  and  Pompey, 
Brigadiers  Putnam  and  Ward,  and  all  such  great  men ; 
put  them  in  mind  of  Cape  Breton,  and  all  the  battles 
they  had  gained  for  his  majesty  in  the  last  war,  and  ob 
served  that  the  regulars  must  have  been  ruined  but  for 
them.  After  so  learned  and  spirited  an  harangue,  he  dis 
missed  the  parade,  and  the  whole  company  came  into  the 
house  and  drank  till  nine  o'clock,  and  then  returned  to  their 
respective  homes  full  of  pot-valor." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Condition  of  Canada  in  1775.  —  Operations  on  Lake  Champlain  and  the 
Sorel.  —  Fall  of  Fort  St.  John,  and  Capture  of  Andre". 

FROM  Boston  Andre  might  have  passed  either  by  land  or 
by  sea  to  Canada.  The  former  route  would  have  been  the 
most  dangerous  for  a  known  adherent  of  the  crown  ;  but 
since  his  arrival  in  America,  there  had  probably  been  no 
necessity  of  his  connection  with  the  army  being  made  public, 
and  we  may  therefore  conjecture,  that  he  encountered  little 
difficulty  in  getting  out  of  the  town,  or  on  his  road  through 
the  northern  parts  of  New  England.  There  was  indeed  no 
inconsiderable  share  of  loyalty  among  the  people  along  his 
path  ;  but  the  whig  element  decidedly  predominated ;  and 
perhaps  the  first  overt  act  of  rebellion  on  the  continent  was 
the  capture  of  the  fort  at  Portsmouth,  on  December  13th, 
1774,  by  a  band  of  three  or  four  hundred  men,  acting  under 
instructions  from  the  Boston  whigs.  They  rushed  in  by 
beat  of  drum,  disregarding  the  four-pounders  that  were  hur 
riedly  and  harmlessly  discharged  against  them ;  and  over 
awing  the  garrison  of  six  invalids,  and  binding  the  command 
er,  they  hauled  down  the  royal  colors,  and  bore  off  (as  was 
their  chief  design)  all  the  arms  and  ammunition  of  the  post. 
Such  an  event  as  this  ought  to  occupy  an  important  place  in 
the  annals  of  our  early  violations  of  existing  laws ;  and  taken 
in  connection  with  all  that  had  elsewhere  transpired  within 
the  range  of  his  observation  since  his  arrival  at  Philadelphia, 
must  have  furnished  Andre  with  matter  for  a  very  sufficient 
report  upon  the  temper  and  designs  of  the  Americans,  if  in 
deed  such  task  had  been  assigned  him.  All  this,  however,  is 


72  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDlifi. 

conjectural.  We  only  know  that  he  at  last  rejoined  his  regi 
ment,  the  seventh,  in  Canada. 

Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the  military  and  civil  commander  of  the 
province  of  Quebec  (which  comprehended  both  Canadas) 
had  arrived  there  in  September,  1774.  He  was  a  man  of 
clear  and  extensive  judgment,  great  administrative  faculties, 
large  experience,  and  winning  manners  ;  and  though  turned 
of  fifty,  an  active  and  skilful  soldier.  With  the  character  of 
the  Canadians  he  was  well  acquainted,  and  the  extraordinary 
official  powers  that  he  was  vested  with  appear  to  have  been 
used  so  sagaciously  as  to  procure  most  important  advantages 
for  England,  without  alienating  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Among  our  own  leaders  there  was  an  opinion  that  it  was 
lucky  for  America  that  the  ministry  should  have  so  far  gone 
out  of  their  way,  —  as  by  a  private  arrangement  with  him, — 
to  have  given  to  Howe  and  Burgoyne  the  command  of  the 
royal  arms  ;  for  the  appointment,  by  the  customs  of  the  ser 
vice,  pertained  to  Sir  Guy,  and  it  is  very  certain  that  he 
would  have  made  a  better  chief  than  either  of  his  substitutes. 
He  seems,  too,  to  have  been  a  supporter  of  the  cabinet ;  yet 
his  praises  were  sounded  by  their  staunchest  opponents,  and 
the  Duke  of  Richmond  passed  a  most  glowing  eulogium  upon 
him  at  this  period  in  the  House  of  Lords.  In  his  present 
position  he  had  the  advantage  of  some  familiarity  with  the 
patriots  who  were  shortly  to  be  brought  against  him.  Mont 
gomery  and  St.  Clair  had  fought  by  his  side  when  Mont- 
calm  fell,  and  as  quartermaster  of  Wolfe's  army  he  must 
have  had  some  knowledge  of  Charles  Lee  and  Putnam,  of 
Starke,  Schuyler,  and  Wooster.  Such  was  the  General 
under  wrhose  command  Andre  had  first  experience  of  actual 
w7ar. 

The  people  of  Canada  at  this  date,  if  not  so  warmly  at 
tached  to  the  British  government  as  a  few  years  sooner  they 
had  been  to  that  of  France,  wrere  at  least  not  generally  dis 
contented.  The  provisions  of  the  Quebec  act  gave  them 
little  uneasiness.  Unused  to  democratical  forms  of  govern- 


CONDITION  OF  CANADA  IN   1775.  73 

ment,  they  did  not  share  in  the  anger  of  the  whigs  in  Eng 
land  and  the  more  southern  colonies,  at  a  law  which  gave 
them  no  part  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs,  while 
the  free  toleration  of  the  Catholic  religion  was  necessarily 
grateful  to  a  population  that  was  Catholic  almost  to  a  man. 
But  our  leaders  in  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere  did  not 
relish  the  idea  of  going  into  a  war  with  England  without 
striving  to  make  allies  rather  than  enemies  of  a  country  that 
lay  in  such  dangerous  contiguity  to  their  own  ;  and  secret 
emissaries  were  already  among  the  Canadians.  In  further 
ance  of  this  end,  congress  sent  forth  to  them  an  able  address, 
which,  translated  into  French  and  distributed  in  manuscript, 
produced  a  good  effect  among  that  people  ;  but  it  unfortu 
nately  inspired  some  of  their  principal  men  to  examine  the 
address  to  the  people  of  England,  made  at  the  same  time. 
This  document,  while  it  did  not  flatter  the  civil  capabilities 
of  the  Canadians,  inveighed  with  great  warmth  against  the 
countenance  parliament  had  given  to  their  creed  ;  which  was 
declared  to  be  the  disseminator  of  impiety,  persecution,  and 
murder  over  all  the  world.  These  passages  provoked  the 
violent  resentment  of  the  readers,  who  openly  cursed  "  the 
perfidious,  double-faced  congress,"  and  hesitated  no  longer 
in  renewing  their  allegiance  to  King  George.  This  conse 
quence  should  have  been  foreseen.  "  I  beg  leave,"  wrote 
over  an  English  friend  to  America,  in  January,  1775,  u  to 
caution  you  against  any  strictures  on  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  as  it  will  be  much  more  advantageous  for  you  to 
conciliate  to  you  the  Canadians,  than  to  exasperate  or  rouse 
the  people  here ;  let  us  alone  to  do  that."  The  few  active 
sympathizers  that  congress  possessed  in  Canada  were  chiefly 
new-comers,  whose  zeal  was  more  abundant  than  their  dis 
cretion.  On  the  day  fixed  for  the  Quebec  act  to  go  into 
force,  (May  1,  1775,)  the  king's  bust  on  the  parade  at  Mont 
real  was  found  to  have  been  blackened  during  the  night,  and 
adorned  with  a  rosary  of  potatoes  and  a  wooden  cross,  to 
which  this  label  was  added :  Le  Pape  du  Canada,  ou  le  sot 


74  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR&. 

Anglois.  This  insult  greatly  exasperated  the  government  as 
well  as  the  people. 

Meanwhile,  matters  with  Gage  were  coming  to  a  crisis, 
and  Carleton  left  no  stone  unturned  to  put  his  own  govern 
ment  in  condition  to  render  every  service  in  its  power  to  the 
crown.  He  seems  indeed  to  have  for  a  time  meditated  a 
march  upon  Boston,  and  two  officers  were  sent  out  with  pri 
vate  instructions  to  explore  a  military  route.  But  the  enter- 
prise^  of  the  Americans,  and  the  fortunes  of  war,  soon  gave 
him  abundant  occupation  at  home. 

The  course  which  an  army  would,  it  was  thought,  be 
obliged  to  follow  in  passing  between  Canada  and  the  other 
colonies,  was  well  known.  Lake  Champlain,  commencing 
near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  stretching  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  north,  pours  its  waters 
through  the  Sorel  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  between  Montreal 
and  Quebec.  This  lake  was  commanded  by  the  fortresses 
of  Ticonderoga,  erected  near  its  communication  with  Lake 
George,  and  of  Crown  Point,  situated  farther  to  the  north. 
At  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Sorel,  Fort  Chambly  was 
erected,  and  twelve  miles  to  the  southward  was  the  post  of 
St.  Johns.  To  garrison  these  places  would,  in  time  of  war, 
demand  large  forces  ;  but  in  peace  they  were  of  course  held 
by  slender  guards.  In  fact,  the  only  troops  that  Carleton 
now  had  in  Lower  Canada  were  the  7th  and  26th  regiments, 
numbering  717  men,  all  told.  The  8th  regiment  was  in 
Upper  Canada ;  and  all  were  broken  up  into  various  and 
scattered  detachments. 

As  Ticonderoga  was  known  to  contain  large  military  stores, 
of  which  we  were  very  destitute,  it  was  concerted  to  seize  this 
post  so  soon  as  hostilities  should  commence.  A  secret  emis 
sary  of  the  Boston  Committee  appears  to  have  so  managed 
the  affair  that  when,  on  the  10th  of  May,  three  weeks  after  the 
Lexington  fight,  he  accompanied  the  Americans  in  a  night- 
surprise  of  the  fortress,  he  was  surprised  to  find  the  gates 
closed.  A  wicket,  however,  stood  conveniently  open,  and, 


OPERATIONS   OX  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN  AXD  THE  SOREL.    75 

giving  the  Indian  war-whoop,  the  assailants  poured  in 
"  with  uncommon  rancour,"  as  Ethan  Allen,  their  chief, 
expressed  it.  The  forty-four  men  of  the  26th,  who  gar 
risoned  the  place,  were  compelled  to  surrender  with  hardly  a 
pretence  at  resistance,  beyond  the  snapping  of  his  firelock  by 
the  sentry  ;  and  it  would  seem  that  the  only  injury  received 
by  any  of  the  victors  was  in  consequence  of  a  dispute  be 
tween  two  of  the  leaders  as  to  their  conduct  in  the  business, 
in  the  course  of  which  Colonel  Easton  was  "  heartily  kicked  " 
by  Colonel  Arnold. 

The  Americans  on  this  occasion  were  not  numerous,  but 
they  were  active.  Crown  Point,  Skenesborough,  and  St. 
Johns  were  visited  without  delay,  the  public  stores  seized 
or  destroyed,  and  a  few  more  soldiers  taken  prisoners.  But 
the  secret  of  the  expedition  had  leaked  out  before  the  blow 
was  struck,  and  large  reinforcements  were  actually  on  their 
way  to  Ticonderoga  when  it  was  captured.  There  is  even 
reason  to  suppose  that  Andre  was  of  the  party.  It  consisted 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  with  six  pieces  of  cannon  ; 
and  was  but  twenty  miles  from  St.  Johns  when  that  place 
fell.  To  these  appear  to  have  been  joined  forty  more  from 
Chambly.  On  the  19th  May  they  fell  upon  Allen,  who  was 
then  at  St.  Johns.  He  retreated  with  trifling  loss,  and  the 
British  resumed  possession  of  the  post. 

So  long  as  he  retained  the  command  of  the  Sorel,  Carleton 
knew  that  a  serious  invasion  of  Canada  was  unlikely.  He 
therefore  at  once  set  about  strengthening  his  hands  in  this 
quarter.  Over  five  hundred  regulars  were  soon  gathered  for 
the  defence  of  Chambly  and  St.  Johns,  drawn  chiefly  from 
the  7th  and  26th  regiments,  with  a  few  from  the  naval  and 
artillery  services ;  and  a  number  of  Canadian  levies,  and  all 
the  ship-carpenters  from  Quebec,  were  joined  with  them. 
The  summer  was  passed  in  building  vessels  wherewith  to 
regain  the  control  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  in  fortifying  St. 
Johns.  This  post  was  situated  on  a  level  space  near  the 
riverside,  and,  so  long  as  it  could  hold  out,  was  thought  to 


76  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

be  a  perfect  safeguard  against  any  attempt  on  Chambly. 
The  latter  fort  was  therefore  but  weakly  garrisoned,  and  ap 
pears  to  bave  been  regarded  by  the  English  as  a  place  of 
deposit  for  the  bulk  of  their  stores,  and  one  to  which  they 
might  safely  resort  should  the  other  work  become  untenable. 
The  provisions  for  St.  Johns  were  even  kept  there,  to  be 
issued  forth  from  time  to  time  as  wanted.  By  the  end  of 
August,  two  vessels  were  nearly  ready  to  receive  their 
masts,  and  two  strong  square  forts  erected.  These  were 
about  a  hundred  yards  apart,  connected  towards  the  water  by 
a  small  breastwork.  A  ditch,  fed  from  the  river,  and  strong 
pickets,  or  chevaux-de-frise,  encompassed  them  about ;  and 
they  were  well  supplied  with  artillery.  The  hesitancy  of 
congress  to  set  on  foot  an  invasion  of  a  neighboring  province, 
gave  the  English  unusual  facilities  for  carrying  on  their  toil 
uninterruptedly.  That  body  bad  indeed  approved  of  the  pri 
vate  enterprise  which  wrested  Ticonderoga  from  the  king's 
hands ;  but  it  was  not  until  June  that  it  took  steps  to  provide 
for  a  continental  army  and  to  appoint  its  generals.  On  the 
27th,  a  few  days  later,  Major-General  Schuyler  was  directed 
to  repair  to  Ticonderoga  and,  if  expedient,  to  invade  Canada  ; 
but  it  was  not  before  the  30th  that  Articles  of  War  for  the 
government  of  its  soldiery  were  actually  adopted.  A  num 
ber  of  Americans  were  already  assembled  at  Ticonderoga 
when  Schuyler  arrived  there  on  the  18th  July,  and  many 
more  came  in  during  the  summer;  so  that  towards  its  close 
upwards  of  2000  men  were  expected  to  move  to  the  Sorel. 
But,  as  may  be  easily  believed,  this  force  was  stronger  in 
numbers  than  effectiveness.  Drawn  from  different  colonies, 
unaccustomed  to  serve  together,  impatient  of  discipline,  their 
ranks  were  filled  with  jealousies  and  disputes.*  The  most 

*  "About  ten  o'clock  last  night  I  arrived  at  the  landing-place,  the  north 
end  of  Lake  George,  a  post  occupied  by  a  captain  and  one  hundred  men. 
A  sentinel,  on  being  informed  I  was  in  the  boat,  quitted  his  post  to  go  and 
awake  the  guard,  consisting  of  three  men,  in  which  he  had  no  success.  I 
walked  up,  and  came  to  another,  a  sergeant's  guard.  Here  the  sentinel 
challenged,  but  suffered  me  to  come  up  to  him,  the  whole  guard,  like  the 


OPERATIOXS   OX  LAKE  CHAMPLAIX  AXD   THE   SOREL.   77 

undaunted  courage  cannot  long  supply  the  lack  of  subordina 
tion  in  a  soldier ;  and  this  defect  seems  to  have  been  one  great 
cause  of  Schuyler's  trouble.  He  alleges  that  even  from  a  par 
tisan  so  valiant  and  important  as  Ethan  Allen,  he  was  obliged 
to  exact  a  solemn  promise  of  proper  demeanor  before  he  re 
luctantly  gave  him  permission  to  attend  the  army.  Nor  was 
desertion  unknown  :  "  We  held  a  court-martial  at  every  other 
stage,"  wrote  a  New  York  officer,  "  and  gave  several  of  the 
unruly  ones  Moses's  Law,  i.  e.  thirty-nine." 

Apprehensive  that  the  enemy's  vessels  would  be  ready 
for  service  before  the  full  force  with  which  he  designed  en 
tering  Canada  could  be  brought  up,  Schuyler  appeared  be 
fore  St.  Johns,  with  upwards  of  1000  men,  on  the  6th  of 
September.  A  landing  was  made  within  two  miles  of  the 
place,  and  after  some  brisk  skirmishing  the  troops  halted  for 
the  night.  But  no  Canadians  repaired  to  their  aid,  as  had 
been  hoped  for,  which,  with  other  prudential  considerations, 
induced  the  American  leaders  to  return  on  the  7th  to  the 
Isle-anx-Noix,  not  far  distant.  On  the  night  of  the  10th  a 
detachment  of  800  men,  under  Montgomery,  again  landed 
near  the  fort ;  but  the  noise  which  a  part  made  in  marching 
through  the  tangled  woods  occasioned  a  panic  among  the  rest, 
from  which  there  was  no  recovering  them ;  and  it  was  neces 
sary,  on  the  next  day,  to  lead  them  back,  after  a  very  trifling 
skirmish.  On  the  17th,  however,  they  were  once  more  em 
barked,  and,  Schuyler's  illness  preventing  his  accompanying 
them,  the  subsequent  conduct  of  the  siege  devolved  upon 
Montgomery.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  strength  of  his 
forces,  by  reason  of  the  numbers  who  were  constantly  sent 
back  to  Crown  Point  on  the  sick-list ;  but  it  was  probably 

first,  in  the  soundest  sleep.  With  a  penknife  only  I  could  have  cut  oft'  both 
guards,  and  then  have  set  fire  to  the  block-house,  destroyed  the  stores,  and 
starved  the  people  here.  .  .  .  But  I  hope  to  get  the  better  of  this  inattention. 
The  officers  and  men  are  all  good-looking  people,  and  decent  in  their  de 
portment,  and  I  really  believe  will  make  good  soldiers  as  soon  as  I  can  get 
the  better  of  this  nonchalance  of  theirs.  Bravery,  I  believe,  they  are  fax 
from  wanting."  —  Schuyler  to  Washington,  July  18,  1775. 


78  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDEF.. 

not  far  from  2000  men.  A  party  was  stationed  between 
Chambly  and  St.  Johns  to  interrupt  the  communication  ;  and 
though  it  was  routed  by  an  expedition  from  the  fort,  subse 
quent  reinforcements  arrived  to  the  Americans,  and  on  the 
18th  the  British  were  in  turn  compelled  to  fly.  The  invest 
ment  continued,  but  bad  weather  and  the  feebleness  of  the 
beleaguering  army  retarded  its  progress  not  a  little.  The 
fort  was  held  by  Major  Preston,  of  the  26th,  with  upwards 
of  500  men ;  among  whom  was  a  large  part  of  the  7th,  with 
Andre  as  their  quartermaster.  Major  Stopford  of  the  7th, 
with  nearly  100  of  that  regiment,  commanded  at  Chambly. 
In  Montgomery's  opinion  it  was  necessary  to  erect  certain 
works  to  insure  the  reduction  of  St.  Johns ;  but  he  had  to 
do,  as  he  soon  acknowledged,  with  "  troops  who  carried  the 
spirit  of  freedom  into  the  field,  and  thought  for  themselves." 
His  ideas  were  not  approved  of  by  his  inferiors,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  lay  the  plan  aside.  This  is  but  an  instance  of 
the  crude  organization  of  our  army  at  this  early  day.  \\roos- 
ter,  the  third  in  rank  in  that  region,  held  command  of  his 
Connecticut  men  as  a  colonial  and  not  a  continental  regi 
ment,  explaining  that  they  were  allies  of  the  other  Ameri 
cans,  but  soldiers  of  Connecticut ;  and  Schuyler  says  that 
it  was  with  no  little  difficulty  that  any  useful  service  was 
at  length  obtained  from  them.  With  others  of  his  offi 
cers,  Montgomery's  relations  were  extremely  embarrassing. 
Many  of  them  reported  directly  to  their  respective  colonial 
authorities,  and  of  course  commented  freely  on  all  that  oc 
curred.  The  ill  effects  of  such  a  system  are  evident ;  but 
there  was  then  no  help  for  it.  A  New  Hampshire  officer 
informs  the  government  that  he  alone  has  the  execution  of 
any  successful  measure  ;  the  failures  are  due  to  Allen  and 
others.  Another  officer,  a  captain,  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut,  in  which,  professing 
his  own  piety,  he  feels  called  upon  to  complain  of  the  pro 
fanity  of  head-quarters  ;  Montgomery,  besides,  is  no  general, 
though  he  may  indeed  possess  courage.  On  the  other  hand, 


SIEGE  OF  FORT   ST.   JOHN.  79 

courage  was  the  very  quality  which  Montgomery  seems  to 
have  found  lacking  in  some  of  his  followers.  He  reports  to 
Schuyler  the  cowardly  conduct  of  an  officer  of  the  same 
name  as  this  critical  writer,  and  adds :  "  Were  I  furnished 
with  power  for  that  purpose,  he  should  not  live  an  hour  after 
his  trial,  if  the  court  condemn  him."  This  spirit  of  insubor 
dination,  which  induced  Montgomery's  army  to  prefer  mutiny 
to  the  sacrifice  to  his  positive  commands  of  their  own  opinion 
as  to  the  best  way  of  besieging  St.  Johns,  must  be  duly  con 
sidered  by  every  one  who  follows  our  military  history  at  this 
period.  It  prevailed  widely ;  and  the  purest  patriotism,  and  the 
irksome  use  of  flattery  and  persuasion,  were  too  often  needed 
to  enable  a  general  to  retain  his  commission  or  to  effect  any 
thing  with  his  troops.  Montgomery  was  wearied  of  his  place, 
and  anxious  to  get  rid  of  it ;  for  matters  soon  came  to  such  a 
pass  that  he  was  obliged  to  inform  his  chief  subordinates  (or, 
rather,  insubordinates),  that  unless  they  would  obey  his  orders 
he  should  at  once  abandon  the  leadership  and  leave  them  to 
their  own  devices.  At  the  same  period  Schuyler,  disgusted 
with  the  disorders  that  he  could  not  subdue,  was  resolved  no 
longer  "  to  coax,  to  wheedle,  and  even  to  lie,  to  carry  on  the 
service,"  and  made  up  his  mind  to  retire ;  while  Washington, 
for  similar  causes,  declared  that  no  earthly  consideration 
should  have  wooed  him  to  accept  the  chief  command,  had  he 
foreseen  what  was  before  him.  Yet  there  were  many  good 
soldiers  in  our  ranks,  and  discipline  only  was  required  to  ren 
der  them  all  such.  Meanwhile  the  siege  went  on  slowly. 
Both  parties  suffered  from  want  of  sufficient  necessaries  of 
war.  The  garrison  fought  often  knee-deep  in  mire,  and  their 
opponents,  in  addition  to  the  injudicious  nature  of  their  works, 
labored  under  a  deficiency  of  ammunition.  At  this  juncture, 
an  enterprise,  suggested  by  some  Canadians  whom  Major 
James  Livingston  had  prevailed  on  to  espouse  the  American 
cause,  was  crowned  with  success,  and  gave  an  unexpected 
turn  to  affairs.  With  300  of  them,  and  in  cooperation  with 
a  detachment  from  Montgomery's  army,  he  attacked  Fort 


80  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

Chambly.  On  the  18th  of  October,  Major  Stopford  of  the 
7th,  with  nearly  100  of  his  men,  surrendered  this  post,  in 
which,  as  in  a  place  of  security,  were  lodged  not  only  the 
stores  for  St.  Johns,  but  the  women  and  children  of  the 
troops  that  defended  it,  and  to  which  the  beleaguered  garri 
son  already  meditated  a  retreat.  It  may  be  noted  that  Liv 
ingston,  whose  conduct  on  this  occasion  so  greatly  promoted 
the  event  that  reduced  Andre  to  captivity,  was  the  same  offi 
cer  who,  a  few  years  later,  was  indirectly  the  cause  of  his 
final  and  fatal  arrest.  "  The  capture  of  Chamblee  occa 
sioned  many  others,"  wrote  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  long  after. 
Lamb  also,  the  artillery  officer  at  West  Point  on  this  last  oc 
casion,  now  pointed  the  guns  against  the  walls  within  which 
Andre  fought.  The  colors  of  the  7th  were  among  the  spoils 
taken  at  Chambly.  They  were  sent  to  Philadelphia ;  and 
their  keeping,  after  presentation  to  congress,  being  probably 
confided  to  the  President,  they  were,  wrote  John  Adams  to 
his  wife,  "  hung  up  in  Mrs.  Hancock's  chamber  with  great 
splendor  and  elegance."*  These  were  the  first  standards 
captured  in  this  war. 

The  garrison  of  St.  Johns  was  now  put  on  half  allowance, 
and  the  siege  was  more  vigorously  conducted.  Montgomery's 
men  seem  at  length  to  have  permitted  his  views  to  be  carried 
out;  and  on  the  29th  October,  a  battery  was  erected,  under 
the  fire  of  the  fort,  on  an  eminence  to  the  north  which  entire 
ly  commanded  it.  On  the  next  day  ten  guns  and  mortars  were 

*  The  7th  lost  its  colors  again  before  the  war  was  ended.  One  of  these, 
taken  at  Yorktown,  is  preserved,  as  the  gift  of  Washington,  at  Alexandria, 
Va.  It  is  of  heavy  twilled  silk,  seventy-two  inches  long  by  sixty-four  \vide, 
and  presents  the  red  and  white  crosses  on  a  blue  field.  In  the  centre,  in 
silk  embroidery,  is  the  crown  above  a  rose  surrounded  by  a  garter  with  the 
legend,  lloid  suit  rjiii  malypense.  The  royal  warrant  of  July  1,  1751,  pre 
scribes  lor  the  7th:  —  "In  the  centre  of  their  colours  the  Rose  within  the 
Garter,  and  the  Crown  over  it:  the  White  Horse  in  the  corners  of  the  sec 
ond  Colour."  This  colour  now  also  bears  by  royal  warrant  the  words:  — 
Martinique.,  Talavera,  Albuhera,  Badajo/,  Salamanca,  Vittoria,  Pyrenees, 
Orthes,  Peninsula,  Toulouse;  —  memorials  of  victories  that  may  well  obliter 
ate  the  scenes  of  America. 


CAPTURE  OF  ANDR£.  81 

mounted,  and    preparations  made  for  a  general    cannonade 
and  assault.     Tidings  of  affairs  had  however  been  conveyed 
to  Carleton,  who  marched  with  a  strong  force  of  irregulars  to 
relieve  the  place.     His  design  was  to  attack  the  American 
intrenchments,  while  Preston  at  the  same  time  should  make 
a  sally  from  within.     But  on  the  30th  October,  Sir  Guy's 
party  was  intercepted  and  defeated,  and  he  was  compelled  to 
retreat  to  Montreal.     On  the  evening  of  November  1st,  the 
new  battery  and  the  old  four-gun  work  having  kept  up  an 
incessant  fire  through  the  day,  which  was  briskly  returned 
from  the  forty-eight  pieces  of  the  fort,  Montgomery  sent  a 
fiag  to  Preston  with  one  of  the  prisoners  taken  at  Carleton's 
defeat,  and  a  request  that,  since  relief  was  now  hopeless,  the 
post  should  be  surrendered.     To  this  Preston  replied,  prom 
ising  to  offer  proposals  if  relief  should  not  appear  within  four 
days.     These  terms  were  peremptorily  declined.     Another 
prisoner  of  superior  rank  was  sent  to  Preston,  with  a  decla 
ration  from  Montgomery,  that  the  only  means  to  insure  the 
honors  of  war  for  the  garrison  and  the  safety  of  the  officers' 
baggage,  was  to  surrender  at  once.    The  Englishman  yielded, 
and  on  the  2nd,  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed.     The 
troops  were  allowed  all  the  honors  of  war.     "  This  was  due," 
said  Montgomery,  "  to   their  fortitude   and    perseverance." 
The  officers  were  to  retain  their  side-arms  ;  their  firearms 
were  to  be  kept  in  pledge ;  the  effects  of  the  garrison  were 
not  to  be  withheld  unless  a  prisoner  should  escape,  in  which 
case  his  property  was  to  be  given  as  plunder  to  the  Ameri 
cans  ;  and  the  prisoners  were  to  pass  into  Connecticut,  or  such 
place  of  detention  as  congress  might  provide.     A  quarter 
master  from  each  corps  was  also  to  go  on  parole  to  Montreal 
to  settle  its  business  and  bring  up  its  baggage.     For  the  7th, 
this  duty  fell  upon  Andre  ;  seven  of  its  officers  had  been 
taken  at  Chambly,  and   thirteen   more   were   now  captives 
with  most  of  its  privates.     About  sixty  men  only  remained 
at  liberty.     These  had  been  retained  by  Carleton,  and  shared 
in  the  defence  of  Quebec.    At  9  A.  M.,  on  the  3rd  November, 


82  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

1775,  the  Americans  entered  St.  Jolms  ;  and  the  English,  to 
the  number  of  six  hundred,  marching  out  and  grounding  their 
arms  on  a  plain  to  the  westward,  became  prisoners  of  war. 
They  were  immediately  embarked  for  Ticonderoga. 

The  principal  losses  to  either  side  during  this  siege  seem 
to  have  been  by  desertions.  Of  our  people,  but  nine  were 
killed,  and  four  or  five  wounded.  "  You  know  we  take  good 
care  of  ourselves,"  wrote  Montgomery.  Nor  could  the  Brit 
ish  casualties  have  been  very  numerous,  since  the  defence 
was  conducted  with  hardly  an  attempt  at  a  sortie  ;  though 
such  measures  might  have  been  very  advantageous  to  the 
besieged.  But  for  the  capture  of  Chambly,  and  the  final 
adoption  of  our  general's  plan  of  investment,  the  fort  would 
not  have  fallen  at  all,  either  by  assault  or  starvation  ;  for 
assault  was  only  practicable  from  that  quarter  whence  our 
men  had  at  first  shrunk,  with  an  impression  that  they  were 
to  be  betrayed  and  trepanned  under  the  guns  of  the  place. 
Besides,  at  the  time  of  surrender,  very  many  of  our  troops 
were  importunate  to  go  home.  Their  enlistments  were  near 
ly  out,  and  they  were  utterly  unaccustomed  to  the  severities 
of  military  life,  or  to  prolonged  absence  from  their  families. 
Few  indeed  of  the  hundreds  of  sick  that  were  sent  to  Ticon 
deroga  ever  returned  to  camp.  "  The  greater  part  of  them 
are  so  averse  to  going  back,  that  they  pretend  sickness  and 
skulk  about;  and  some,  even  officers,  go  away  without  leave; 
nor  can  I  get  the  better  of  them,"  wrote  Schuyler  to  con 
gress.  Had  the  siege  endured  much  longer,  probably  half 
of  our  army  would  have  retired.  As  it  was,  Howe,  at  Bos 
ton,  had  little  idea  that  all  was  not  going  on  well  on  the  Sorel, 
till  the  Americans  furnished  him  with  a  newspaper  account 
of  our  victories.  On  the  14th  November,  Washington  pub 
lished  the  grateful  intelligence  to  the  army  beleaguering 
Howe:  and  the  countersign  for  the  day  was  "  Montgomery"; 
the  parole,  "  St.  Johns."  A  thousand  copies  of  the  account 
of  the  capture  were  printed  by  congress  for  distribution  in 
England. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Andre's  Captivity.  —  Detained  in  Pennsylvania.  —  Treatment  of  Prisoners. 
—  Andrews  Relations  with  the  Americans. — His  Letters  to  Mr.  Cope. — 
Exchange  and  Promotion.  —  Sir  Charles  Grey.  —  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and 
the  Operations  on  the  Hudson. 

THE  stipulation  that  their  effects  should  not  be  withheld 
from  the  garrison  of  St.  Johns  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
observed.  It  but  was  too  customary  on  both  sides,  at  this 
time,  to  disregard  the  rights  of  the  vanquished  and  defence 
less.  The  British,  being  better  disciplined,  did  their  spiriting 
rather  more  gently  than  our  troops.  The  American  bag 
gage,  protected  by  the  capitulation  of  Fort  Washington  hi 
November,  1776,  was  only  partially  plundered;  while  about 
the  same  period  Washington,  by  flogging  and  cashiering,  was 
striving  to  make  the  Nyms  and  Bardolphs  of  our  ranks  re 
frain  from  stealing  large  mirrors,  women's  raiment,  and  the 
like,  from  private  houses,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  Andre  got  away 
with  the  baggage  of  the  7th  from  Montreal,  whither  our 
army  had  marched.  On  the  13th  November,  1775,  Mont 
gomery  writes  to  Schuyler  :  — 

"  I  wish  some  method  could  be  fallen  upon  of  engaging 
gentlemen  to  serve ;  a  point  of  honour  and  more  knowledge 
of  the  world,  to  be  found  in  that  class  of  men,  would  greatly 
reform  discipline,  and  render  the  troops  much  more  tracta 
ble.  The  officers  of  the  1st  regiment  of  Yorkers,  and  Ar 
tillery  Company,  were  very  near  a  mutiny  the  other  day, 
because  I  would  not  stop  the  clothing  of  the  garrison  of  St. 
Johns.  I  would  not  have  sullied  my  own  reputation,  nor 
disgraced  the  Continental  arms,  by  such  a  breach  of  capitu 
lation,  for  the  universe ;  there  was  no  driving  it  into  their 


84  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

noddles,  that  the  clothing  was  really  the  property  of  the  sol 
dier,  that  he  had  paid  for  it,  and  that  every  regiment,  in  this 
country  especially,  saved  a  year's  clothing,  to  have  decent 
clothes  to  wear  on  particular  occasions." 

But  there  were,  first  or  last,  other  and  less  scrupulous 
hands  to  be  met ;  which,  as  they  did  not  hesitate  to  spoil  the 
goods  of  congress,  were  probably  not  idle  among  those  of  a 
captive  enemy,  protected  only  by  a  guard  of  honor.  u  I 
have  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Americans,"  wrote  Andre 
to  a  friend  at  home,  "  and  stript  of  every  thing,  except  the 
picture  of  Honora,  which  I  concealed  in  my  mouth.  Pre 
serving  that,  I  yet  think  myself  fortunate."  *  At  Ticonde- 
roga  the  officers  of  the  7th  and  26th  applied  to  the  Americans 
for  blankets  and  shoes  for  their  men,  who  were  almost  bare 
footed  ;  but  there  were  none  to  spare.  Schuyler,  however, 
who  had  received  the  hospitalities  of  the  26th  when  travel 
ling  in  Ireland,  advanced  means  to  the  officers  of  both  regi 
ments  to  supply  these  necessities.  They  were  then  sent, 
under  a  guard  of  a  hundred  men,  for  Connecticut ;  where 
the  Committee  of  Safety  had  provided  for  their  distribution, 
and  for  the  assignment  of  the  privates  as  laborers.  This 
was  a  practice  with  our  government  through  the  contest,  as 
it  was  afterwards  of  Napoleon's  ;  but  it  was  warmly  resented 
by  the  English.  Gage,  especially,  complained  that  the  pris- 


*  Extract  from  Miss  Sewanfs  Witt:  —  "  The  mezzotinto  engraving  from 
a  picture  of  Romney,  which  is  thus  inscribed  on  a  tablet  at  top,  Such  tnts 
Honora  Sneyd,  I  bequeath  to  her  brother  Edward  Sneyd,  Esq.,  if  lie  sur 
vives  me;  if  not,  I  bequeath  it  to  his  amiable  daughter.  Miss  Emma  Sneyd, 
entreating  her  to  value  and  preserve  it  as  the  perfect  though  accidental 
resemblance  of  her  aunt,  and  my  ever  dear  friend,  irlien  she  u>fis  surrounded 
by  all  her  virgin  glories —  beauty  and  (/race,  sensibility  and  goodness,  superior 
intelligence,  and  unswerving  truth.  To  my  before-mentioned  friend,  Mrs. 
Mary  Powys,  in  consideration  of  the  true  and  unextinguishable  love  which 
she  bore  to  the  original,  I  bequeath  the  miniature  picture  of  the  said  Hon 
ora  Sneyd,  drawn  at  Buxton  in  the  year  1776,  by  her  gallant,  faithful  and 
unfortunate  lover,  Major  Andre'',  in  his  18th  year.  That  was  his  first  at 
tempt  to  delineate  the  human  face,  consequently  it  is  an  unfavorable  and 
most  imperfect  resemblance  of  a  most  distinguished  beauty." 


ANDRE'S   CAPTIVITY.  85 

oners  of  war  should  be  made  to  work  "  like  negro  slaves  to 
gain  their  daily  subsistence,  or  reduced  to  the  wretched  alter 
native,  to  perish  by  famine  or  take  up  arms  against  their 
king  and  country."  Up  to  Montgomery's  arrival  at  the 
Sorel,  indeed,  there  were  no  prisoners  of  war  to  speak  of 
subject  to  the  control  of  Congress ;  and  no  systematic  prep 
arations  for  their  disposition  had  been  made.  It  was  now, 
however,  ordered  that  the  officers  taken  at  St.  Johns  should 
continue  their  course  to  Connecticut,  while  the  privates  should 
be  brought  to  Pennsylvania,  where  there  were  greater  con 
veniences  for  subsisting  so  many  men.  But  it  was  to  guard 
against  such  a  separation  that  the  officers  had  obtained 
Schuyler's  promise  that  they  should  not  be  parted  from 
their  soldiers.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  important  that 
they  should  see  that  their  followers  were  not  abused ;  on 
the  other,  that  attempts  to  seduce  them  into  the  American 
service  should  be  thwarted.  Accordingly,  when  the  instruc 
tions  of  Congress  reached  the  officer  who  was  leading  the 
prisoners  to  Connecticut  by  way  of  the  Hudson  River,  he  could 
only  obey  them  so  far  as  to  bring  on  with  him  to  Pennsyl 
vania  all  of  the  7th  that  were  taken  at  St.  Johns,  officers  as 
well  as  privates.  As  he  came  down  the  Hudson,  however, 
Andre  was  encountered  by  Knox,  —  afterwards  one  of  the 
Board  that  pronounced  on  his  fate,  and  now  on  his  road  to 
the  north  to  select  cannon  for  the  siege  of  Boston,  from  the 
spoils  on  Champlain.  Chance  compelled  the  two  young  men 
to  pass  the  night  in  the  same  cottage,  and  even  in  the  same 
bed.  There  were  many  points  of  resemblance  between  them. 
Their  ages  were  alike  ;  they  had  each  renounced  the  pursuits 
of  trade  for  the  profession  of  arms  ;  each  had  made  a  study 
of  his  new  occupation  ;  and  neither  was  devoid  of  literary 
tastes  and  habits.  Much  of  the  night  was  consumed  in 
pleasing  conversation  on  topics  that  were  rarely,  perhaps, 
broached  in  such  circumstances ;  and  the  intelligence  and 
refinement  displayed  by  Andre  in  the  discussion  of  subjects 
that  were  equally  interesting  to  Knox,  left  an  impression 


86  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRF.. 

on  the  mind  of  the  latter  that  was  never  obliterated.  The 
respective  condition  of  the  bedfellows  was  not  mutually  com 
municated  till  the  ensuing  morning  as  they  were  about  to 
part ;  and  when  Knox  a  few  years  later  was  called  on  to 
join  in  the  condemnation  to  death  of  the  companion  whose 
society  was  so  pleasant  to  him  on  this  occasion,  the  memory 
of  their  intercourse  gave  additional  bitterness  to  his  painful 
duty.  Joshua  Smith  also  asserts  that  he  dined  at  this  time 
with  Andre,  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Hay  of  Haverstraw ; 
though  the  features  of  the  young  officer  were  faded  from  his 
remembrance  when  he  was  called  to  guide  him  from  our  lines 
in  1780. 

Congress  having  ordered  that  its  prisoners  of  war  should 
be  kept  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  Andre  and  his  com 
panions  were  now  carried  to  Lancaster.  The  officers  were 
paroled  to  keep  within  six  miles  of  their  appointed  residence, 
to  approach  no  seaport,  and  to  hold  no  correspondence  on 
American  affairs.  The  sale  of  bills  on  England,  otherwise 
unlawful,  was  legalized  to  them  ;  and  the  men  were  ordered 
to  be  fed  as  the  continental  privates,  but  to  be  paid  and  clad 
by  their  own  government.  The  new  and  unsettled  state  of 
affairs  made  the  condition  of  prisoners  doubly  painful.  They 
had  no  money,  and  could  not  get  any.  They  were  com 
pelled  to  lodge  at  taverns,  for  no  private  house  would  receive 
them  ;  and  their  expenses  could  not  be  met  by  a  proffered 
loan  of  two  paper  dollars  a  week  from  Congress.  It  was 
decided  to  separate  them  from  their  men,  and  they  in  vain 
protested  against  this  measure.  Their  complaint  to  Con 
gress  was  that,  while  the  officer  was  thus  parted  from  his  sol 
diers,  they  were  enlisted  by  the  Americans ;  and  again,  that 
the  privates  at  Lancaster  had  received  neither  their  clothes 
nor  their  pay,  and  that  it  was  unjust  in  the  extreme  to  thus 
deprive  their  leaders  of  the  means  of  satisfying  them.  The 
local  Committee  of  Safety,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Edward 
Shippen  (a  lady  of  whose  family  was  at  a  later  day  the 
friend  of  Andre  and  the  wife  of  Arnold),  could  not  maintain 


TREATMENT   OF  PRISONERS.  87 

order  among  the  men  but  by  a  military  guard.  In  January, 
1776,  they  represent  this  to  Congress.  They  also  strongly 
paint  the  distress  of  their  prisoners.  The  women  and  chil 
dren  are  in  a  state  of  starvation.  The  men  are  half  frozen 
by  want  of  sufficient  covering  "  against  the  rigor  and  inclem 
ency  of  the  season."  This  committee  seems  to  have  given 
what  assistance  it  could  to  the  captives,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  have  declined  separating  officers  and  men.  Accordingly, 
Congress  handed  over  the  disposition  of  the  business  to  the 
State  Committee,  with  instructions  to  imprison  such  officers 
as  would  not  give  a  parole  ;  and  in  March,  1776,  orders  for 
their  removal  from  their  men  at  Lancaster  and  Reading  were 
issued.  Their  money  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  they  were 
compelled  to  leave  their  lodging-bills  unsettled.  The  Lan 
caster  Committee  reported  this  to  Congress,  saying  that  the 
tavern-keepers,  with  whom  the  continental  authorities  had 
lodged  the  officers,  had  finally  refused  to  accommodate  them 
longer,  and  that  some  of  the  inhabitants,  out  of  courtesy,  had 
therefore  been  induced  to  afford  them  rooms,  with  candles, 
fuel,  and  breakfasts  ;  their  own  servants  were  in  attendance, 
and  a  mess-dinner  for  them  all  was  established.  Among  the 
bills  thus  rendered,  we  find  Michael  Bartgis's  claim  for  £7 
65.,  for  a  chamber,  fire,  and  lights,  supplied  to  Lieutenants 
Despard  and  Andre  of  the  7th. 

There  is  no  great  cause  to  suppose  that  these  prisoners 
were  either  well  treated  or  patient.  An  American  officer  of 
reputation,  himself  just  released  from  long  confinement  at 
New  York,  remarks  upon  the  ungenerous  slights  put  upon 
the  captives  at  Reading,  by  that  class  of  whigs  whose  valor 
was  chiefly  displayed  in  insulting  those  whom  better  men  had 
made  defenceless  ;  and  if  their  affronts  were  resented,  the 
officer  stood  a  good  chance  of  being  soundly  cudgelled,  and 
clapped  into  gaol.  More  than  one  who  had  surrendered  to 
Montgomery  attempted  to  abscond.* 

*  After  alleging  instances  of  our  ill-treatment  of  prisoners,  an  English 
account  continues:  "  When  the  garrison  at  St.  Johns  capitulated,  because 


88  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

The  prisoners  alleged,  and  with  truth  perhaps,  that  the 
fear  of  persecution  deterred  many  of  the  inhabitants  from 
showing  them  kindness.  In  Andre's  case  this  apprehension 
certainly  did  not  prevail.  From  some  of  the  people  of  Lan 
caster  he  received  kind  words  and  kind  deeds  ;  and  relations 
of  friendship  were  established  that  still  exist  in  the  memory 
of  their  descendants.  The  local  authorities  were  less  pleased 
with  the  behavior  of  the  26th  than  with  that  of  the  7th  ;  and 
there  could  have  been  no  one  in  either  regiment  better  quali 
fied  than  himself  to  win  the  favor  of  his  new  neighbors.  His 
disposition  may  be  described,  if  it  cannot  be  accurately  de 
lineated.  In  him  were  most  judiciously  combined  the  love 
of  action  and  the  love  of  pleasure  :  the  moving  powers  of 
every  spirit  that  rises  from  the  common  level,  and  which, 
when  properly  directed  and  controlled,  are  well  represented 
as  the  parents  respectively  of  the  useful  and  the  agreeable  in 
man.  "The  character  that  unites  and  harmonizes  both," 
says  Gibbon,  "  would  seem  to  constitute  the  most  perfect  idea 
of  human  nature."  When  business  was  concerned,  Andre 
was  zealous,  active,  and  sagacious :  and  his  leisure  hours 
were  given  to  elegant  and  refining  relaxations.  A  taste  for 
painting,  poetry,  music,  and  dramatic  representations,  com 
prehends  as  well  a  knowledge  of  the  outward  face  of  nature 
as  of  the  thoughts  and  passions  that  stir  mankind ;  and  cor 
rectness  of  eye,  ear,  and  hand  ;  of  judgment,  fancy,  and  obser 
vation  ;  is  fostered  and  strengthened  by  the  arts  upon  which 

they  had  no  provisions  and  no  place  to  retire  to,  the  rebels  were  so  much 
afraid  of  them,  even  when  unarmed,  that  Schuyler  addressed  the  oliiccrs, 
telling  them  he  was  in  their  power,  and  depended  on  their  honour.  It 
would  have  heen  no  wonder  it'  such  people  had  been  well  treated ;  yet  so 
scandalously  ill  were  they  afterwards  used,  that  some  of  the  young  ofiicers 
resolved  rather  to  run  the  hazard  of  perishing  in  the  woods  in  attempting 
to  escape  to  Canada,  than  continue  to  submit  to  it."  —  Royal  Perm.  GHZ. 
May  15,1778.  This  story  has  probably  thus  much  truth  in  it.  Schuyler  may 
have  so  addressed  600  men  whom  he  sent  off  under  a  guard  of  100.  That 
they  were  ill-treated  afterwards  was  no  fault  of  his,  though  he  promised  to 
hang  an  absconding  prisoner  if  he  could  catch  him.  And  after  capturing 
them  while  yet  fully  armed,  the  Americans  would  hardly  have  feared 
unarmed  men. 


ANDRE'S  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  AMERICANS.          89 

it  feeds.  In  his  present  strait,  not  Goldsmith's  Hute  was  more 
useful  to  its  master  beside  u  the  murmuring  Loire  "  than  the 
brush  and  pencil  to  Andre's  familiar  hand.  Whether  as  a 
mere  amusement,  or  as  a  means  of  ingratiating  himself  with 
the  people  of  Lancaster,  he  set  about  teaching  some  of  their 
children  to  draw.  The  late  Dr.  Benjamin  Smith  Barton,  of 
scientific  reputation,  was  thus  initiated  into  the  art  of  sketch 
ing,  and  became  no  mean  draughtsman.  His  family  still 
preserves  specimens  of  Andre's  skill,  some  of  which  are  of 
singular  merit.  His  style  was  easy  and  free,  and  his  favorite 
designs  studies  of  the  human  figure,  or  from  the  antique.  In 
certain  circles  he  thus  became  a  welcome  guest,  and  was  wont 
to  share  in  their  parties  of  pleasure.  Among  the  inhabitants 
who  were  distinguished  by  their  courtesy  to  the  captives  was 
Mr.  Caleb  Cope,  a  Quaker  gentleman  of  loyal  proclivities. 
His  son  had  a  strong  natural  taste  for  painting,  and  soon  be 
came  a  favorite  pupil  of  Andre's :  so  much  so,  that  he  con 
stantly  pressed  the  father  to  place  the  lad  in  his  charge  and 
suffer  him  to  be  brought  up  to  that  art.  On  one  occasion  he 
urged  that  he  was  anxious  to  go  back  to  England,  but  could 
not  do  so  without  a  reasonable  excuse  for  quitting  the  army ; 
that  he  had  now  an  offer  to  purchase  his  commission  ;  and 
that  with  this  boy  to  look  after,  a  fair  pretext  for  returning 
home  would  be  afforded.  But  the  father  was  inflexible,  and 
in  March,  1776,  the  master  and  pupil  were  separated,  and 
the  former  sent  to  Carlisle.  A  correspondence  was  however 
kept  up  between  Mr.  Cope  and  himself. 


ANDRE    TO    CALEB    COPE. 

SIR  :  —  You  wou'd  have  heard  from  me  ere  this  Time  had 
I  not  wish'd  to  be  able  to  give  you  some  encouragement  to 
send  my  young  Friend  John  to  Carlisle.  My  desire  was  to 
find  a  Lodging  where  I  cou'd  have  him  with  me,  and  some 
quiet  honest  family  of  Friends  or  others  where  he  might  have 
boarded,  as  it  wou'd  not  have  been  so  proper  for  him  to  live 


90  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

with  a  Mess  of  officers.  I  have  been  able  to  find  neither  and 
am  myself  still  in  a  Tavern.  The  people  here  are  no  more 
willing  to  harbour  us,  than  those  of  Lancaster  were  at  our  first 
coming  there.  If,  however,  you  can  resolve  to  let  him  come 
here,  I  believe  Mr.  Despard  and  I  can  make  him  up  a  bed  in 
a  Lodging  we  have  in  view,  where  there  will  be  room  enough. 
He  will  be  the  greatest  part  of  the  day  with  us,  employ'd  in 
the  few  things  I  am  able  to  instruct  him  in.  In  the  mean 
while  I  may  get  better  acquainted  with  the  Town,  and  pro 
vide  for  his  board.  With  regard  to  Expence  this  is  to  be 
attended  with  none  to  you.  A  little  assiduity  and  friendship 
is  all  I  ask  in  my  young  friend  in  return  for  my  good  will  to 
be  of  service  to  him  in  a  way  of  improving  the  Talents  Nature 
hath  given  him.  I  shall  give  all  my  attention  to  his  morals, 
and,  as  I  believe  him  well  dispos'd,  I  trust  he  will  acquire 
no  bad  habits  here.  Mr.  Despard  joins  with  me  in  compli 
ments  to  yourself,  Mrs.  Cope,  and  Family.  I  am,  Sir,  your 
most  humble  servant,  JOHN  ANDRE. 

Carlisle,  April  the  3d,  177G. 

Andre  and  Despard  obtained  lodgings  with  a  Mrs.  Ramsey, 
in  the  stone  house  that  now  stands  at  the  corner  of  Locust  Al 
ley  and  South  Hanover  Street,  in  Carlisle  ;  and  for  them  and 
eight  other  officers  a  mess  was  established.  Each  had  his 
servant  from  the  regiment,  dressed  in  the  hunting-shirts  and 
trousers  that  then  were  so  commonly  worn,  particularly  by 
our  troops.  The  ardent  whigs  of  the  place  feared  lest  their 
discourse  should  corrupt  the  weak-minded  within  their  allotted 
bounds  and  were  anxious  to  imprison  them,  but  could  find 
no  pretext.  At  last  Andre  and  his  comrade  were  detected 
in  conversation  with  two  tories.  The  latter  were  sent  to  gaol ; 
and  letters  in  the  French  language  being  found  on  their  per 
sons,  Andre  and  Despard  were  forbidden  for  the  future  to 
leave  the  town.  As  no  one  could  be  found  competent  to 
translate  the  letters,  their  contents  were  never  known.  The 
two  officers  had  provided  themselves  with  very  handsome 


RUMORED  ATTACK  ON  ANDRE.  91 

fowling-pieces  and  a  brace  of  beautiful  pointer  dogs.  The 
guns  they  forthwith  broke  to  pieces,  says  tradition,  affirming 

"  that  no rebel  should  ever  burn  powder  in  them," —  an 

exclamation  that  savors  of  Despard's  style.*  On  another 
occasion  a  person  named  Thompson,  who  had  once  been  an 
apprentice  to  Mr.  Ramsey,  and  was  now  a  militia  captain, 
marched  his  company  from  the  northern  part  of  the  county 
to  Carlisle,  and  drawing  it  up  by  night  before  the  house,  swore 
loudly  that  Andre  and  Despard  should  forthwith  be  put  to 
death.  The  entreaties  of  Mrs.  Ramsey  at  length  prevailed 
on  this  hero  to  depart,  shouting  to  her  lodgers  as  he  went 
that  they  were  to  thank  his  old  mistress  for  their  lives.  On 
the  5th  of  August,  th.e  rumor  spread  through  Lancaster  that 
Captain  Clark's  company,  of  Cumberland  County,  on  its  way 
through  Carlisle  to  that  town,  had  wantonly  attacked  the 
royal  officers  there,  and,  firing  through  the  windows,  had 
wounded  Andre.  As  Clark's  arrival  was  looked  for  that 
night,  the  Lancaster  Committee  appear  to  have  feared  a 
massacre  would  ensue  of  the  privates  in  their  gaol,  similar  to 
that  perpetrated  in  the  same  place,  and  by  people  from  the 
same  region,  a  number  of  years  previously,  upon  the  Chris 
tian  Indians  who  had  fled  from  the  wrath  of  the  Paxton 
Boys.  They  ordered  the  gaol  to  be  well  supplied  with  water 
before  sunset,  and  provided  for  calling  out  the  local  militia,  if 
needs  were ;  and  the  prisoners  were  assured  that  they  should 
be  protected,  if  possible.  These,  however,  were  not  inclined 
to  imitate  their  predecessors  and  die  singing  hymns  and  pray 
ing.  They  armed  themselves  with  stout  cord-sticks,  and 

*  This  was  an  Irish  officer,  who,  in  1781,  very  bravely  supported  Nelson 
in  Nicaragua,  and  was  executed  for  treason  in  1803.  He  was  one  of  the 
very  few  English  officers  that  brought  back  from  America  democratical 
ideas.  A  democratical  soldier  was  indeed  an  anomaly  in  the  service  of  that 
day.  "  Three  distinguished  heroes  of  this  class,"  wrote  Scott  to  his  son, 
"have  arisen  in  my  time:  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  Colonel  Despard,  and 
Captain  Thistle  wood;  and,  with  the  contempt  and  abhorrence  of  all  men, 
they  died  the  death  of  infamy  and  guilt."  Even  in  America,  Mr.  Cope 
had  warned  Despard  that  his  recklessness  and  disregard  would  certainly 
bring  him  to  some  bad  end. 


92  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRF,. 

resolved  to  die  hard.  On  Clark's  approach,  the  alarm  van 
ished  :  he  denied  the  story  altogether,  and  put  its  propagator 
in  the  guard-house.  The  man  then  had  only  to  say  that,  at 
Carlisle,  he  had  seen  two  persons  firing  their  pieces  down  the 
street,  and  that  he  had  heard,  from  the  hou.se  where  the 
officers'  servants  dwelt,  that  Andre  was  wounded.  There 
was  probably  no  truth  in  this  last  assertion ;  but  there  was 
much  ill-will  against  the  officers  from  the  following  cause:—- 
Early  in  1776,  Foster,  with  some  English  arid  a  number  of 
savages,  had  encountered  a  body  of  Americans  at  the  Cedars, 
on  Lake  Champlain,  who  surrendered  to  the  number  of  oUO. 
Foster  alleged  that  his  Indians,  infuriated  at  the  loss  of  their 
sachem,  were  for  murdering  the  prisoners,  and  were  only 
content  to  spare  them  on  condition  of  marking  each  man's 
ear  with  a  knife,  and  threatening  to  slay  outright  all  who 
should  ever  return  with  this  distinction.  lie  then  paroled 
them,  to  go  home  and  be  exchanged  for  a  like  number  of  the 
English  taken  at  St.  Johns.  The  American  government 
would  not  fulfil  this  convention ;  and  the  clipped  men,  arriv 
ing  at  their  own  abode,  were  often  full  of  hatred  to  those  for 
whom  they  were  to  have  been  exchanged.  This  event  occa 
sioned  great  embarrassments  in  effecting  exchanges  during 
the  war ;  for  the  enemy  always  insisted  on  the  men  of  the 
Cedars  being  accounted  for.  But  while  some  of  the  offi 
cers  surrendered  their  paroles  and  were  sent  to  prison,  — 
"  a  dreadful  place,  that  will  be  prejudicial  to  their  health," 
says  the  whig  committee,  —  and  others,  disregarding  it,  fled 
through  the  wilderness  to  their  friends,  Andre  is  described 
as  quietly  confining  himself  to  his  chamber  and  passing  his 
days  in  reading,  with  his  feet  resting  on  the  wainscot  of  the 
window  and  his  dogs  lying  by  his  side.  This  was  the  wisest 
course ;  for  any  infringement  of  the  strict  letter  of  their  pa 
role  was  now  visited  on  the  officers  with  imprisonment  ;  and 
new  restrictions  were  imposed.  They  were  sent  to  gaol  if 
they  went  out  except  in  uniform  ;  they  were  not  permitted 
to  leave  their  chambers  after  nightfall ;  some  were  deprived, 


HIS  LETTERS   TO  MR.   COPE.  93 

as  they  complained .  to  congress,  of  their  servants ;  others 
subjected  to  threats  and  insults.  These  matters  are  set  down 
in  the  records  of  the  times.  Disagreeable  as  they  are  to  re 
peat,  there  can  be  no  reason  for  their  omission  here,  save 
one :  if  there  were  any  cause  to  question  their  truth,  they 
would  gladly  be  stricken  out. 

—  Pudet  haec  opprobria  nobis 
Et  dici  potuisse,  et  non  potuisse  refelli. 


ANDRE    TO    CALEB    COPE. 

DEAR  SIR  :  —  I  am  much  oblig'd  to  you  for  your  kind  Let 
ter  and  to  your  son  for  his  drawings.  He  is  greatly  improv'd 
since  I  left  Lancaster,  and  I  do  not  doubt  but  if  he  continues 
his  application  he  will  make  a  very  great  progress.  I  cannot 
regret  that  you  did  not  send  your  son  hither :  We  have  been 
submitted  to  alarms  and  jealousys  which  wou'd  have  render'd 
his  stay  here  very  disagreeable  to  him  and  I  wou'd  not  wil 
lingly  see  any  person  suffer  on  our  account ;  with  regard  to 
your  apprehensions  in  consequence  of  the  escape  of  the  Leb 
anon  gentlemen,  they  were  groundless,  as  we  have  been  on 
parole  ever  since  our  arrival  at  this  place  which  I  can  assure 
you  they  were  not.  I  shou'd  more  than  once  have  written 
to  you  had  opportunitys  presented  themselves,  but  the  post 
and  we  seem  to  have  fallen  out,  for  we  can  never  by  that 
channel  either  receive  or  forward  a  line  on  the  most  indiffer 
ent  subjects.  Mr.  Despard  is  very  well  and  desires  to  be 
remembered  to  yourself  and  family.  I  beg  you  wou'd  give 
my  most  friendly  compliments  to  your  Family  and  particu 
larly  to  your  son  my  disciple,  to  whom  I  hope  the  future  pos 
ture  of  affairs  will  give  me  an  opportunity  of  pointing  out 
the  way  to  proficiency  in  his  favourite  study,  which  may  tend 
so  much  to  his  pleasure  and  advantage.  Let  him  go  on 
copying  whatever  good  models  he  can  meet  with  and  never 
suffer  himself  to  neglect  the  proportion  and  never  to  think  of 
finishing  his  work,  or  imitating  the  fine  flowing  lines  of  his 


94  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

copy,  till  every  limb,  feature,  house,  tree,  or  whatever  he  is 
drawing,  is  in  its  proper  place.  With  a  little  practise,  this 
will  be  so  natural  to  him,  that  his  Eye  will  at  first  sight 
guide  his  pencil  in  every  part  of  the  work.  I  wish  I  may 
soon  see  you  in  our  way  to  join  our  own  friends  with  which 
I  hope  by  Exchange  we  may  be  at  length  reunited.  I  am, 
Dear  Sir,  &c. 

Carlisle  the  3rd  Septr.  1776. 


THE    SAME    TO    THE    SAME. 

Your  Letter  by  Mr.  Harrington  is  just  come  to  hand.  I 
am  sorry  you  shou'd  imagine  my  being  absent  from  Lancas 
ter,  or  our  troubles  could  make  me  forget  my  friends.  Of 
the  several  Letters  you  mention  having  written  to  me  only 
one  of  late  has  reach'd  Carlisle,  viz.  that  by  Mr.  Slough.  To 
one  I  received  from  you  a  week  or  two  after  leaving  Lancas 
ter  I  return'd  an  Answer.  I  own  the  difficulties  of  our  Cor 
respondence  has  disgusted  me  from  attempting  to  write.  I 
once  more  commend  myself  to  your  good  family  and  am  sin 
cerely  Yrs.  &c.  J.  A. 

I  hope  your  son's  indisposition  will  be  of  no  consequence.* 


THE    SAME    TO    THE    SAME. 

DEAR  SIR  :  —  I  have  just  time  to  acquaint  you  that  I  re- 
ceiv'd  your  Letter  by  Mrs.  Calender  with  my  young  Friend's 
drawings,  which  persuade  me  he  is  much  improv'd,  and  that 
he  has  not  been  idle.  He  must  take  particular  care  in  form 
ing  the  features  in  faces,  and  in  copying  hands  exactly.  lie 
should  now  and  then  copy  things  from  the  life  and  then  com 
pare  the  proportions  with  what  prints  he  may  have,  or  what 
rules  he  may  have  remember'd.  With  respect  to  his  shading 

*  This  letter  was  probably  written  early  in  September.  On  the  24th 
August  the  Council  at  Philadelphia  ordered  that  Mr.  Barrington  should  be 
sent  on  parole  from  Lancaster  gaol  to  Cumberland  County. 


HIS  LETTERS   TO   MR.  COPE.  95 

with  Indian  Ink,  the  anatomical  figure  is  tolerably  well  clone, 
but  he  wou'd  find  his  work  smoother  and  softer,  were  he  to 
lay  the  shades  on  more  gradually,  not  blackening  the  darkest 
at  once,  but  by  washing  them  over  repeatedly,  and  never  un 
til  the  paper  is  quite  dry.  The  figure  is  very  well  drawn. 

Captn.  Campbell  who  is  the  bearer  of  this  letter  will  prob 
ably  when  at  Lancaster  be  able  to  judge  what  likelyhood 
there  is  of  an  Exchange  of  Prisoners  which  we  are  told  is 
to  take  place  immediately.  If  this  shou'd  be  without  founda 
tion,  I  shou'd  be  very  glad  to  see  your  son  here.  Of  this  you 
may  speak  with  Captn.  Campbell,  and  if  you  shou'd  deter 
mine  upon  it,  let  me  know  it  a  few  days  before  hand  when  I 
shall  take  care  to  settle  matters  for  his  reception.  I  am,  &c. 

Carlisle  the  llth  Oct.  1776. 

My  best  compliments  to  your  family  and  particularly  to 
John.  Mr.  Despard  begs  to  be  remember'd  to  you. 


THE    SAME    TO    THE    SAME. 

DEAR  SIR: — I  cannot  miss  the  opportunity  I  have  of 
writing  to  you  by  Mr.  Slough  to  take  leave  of  yourself  and 
Family  and  transmit  to  you  my  sincere  wishes  for  your  wel 
fare.  We  are  on  our  road  (as  we  believe,  to  be  exchang'd) 
and  however  happy  this  prospect  may  make  me,  It  doth  not 
render  me  less  warm  in  the  fate  of  those  persons  in  this 
Country  for  whom  I  had  conceiv'd  a  regard.  I  trust  on 
your  side  you  will  do  me  the  Justice  to  remember  me  with 
some  good  will,  and  that  you  will  be  persuaded  I  shall  be 
happy  if  an  Occasion  shall  offer  of  my  giving  your  son  some 
farther  hints  in  the  Art  for  which  he  has  so  happy  a  turn. 
Desire  him  if  you  please  to  commit  my  name  and  my  friend 
ship  to  his  Memory,  and  assure  him,  from  me,  that  if  he  only 
brings  diligence  to  her  assistance,  Nature  has  open'd  him  a 
path  to  fortune  and  reputation,  and  that  he  may  hope  in  a 
few  years  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labour.  Perhaps  the  face 
of  affairs  may  so  far  change  that  he  may  once  more  be  within 


96  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

my  reach,  when  it  will  be  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  to  give 
him  what  assistance  I  can.  My  best  compliments  as  well  as 
Mr.  Despard's  to  Mrs.  Cope  and  the  rest  of  your  family.  I 
am  truly,  &c. 

Reading  the  2nd  Deer.  1776.* 

Towards  the  close  of  this  year  most  of  the  prisoners  made 
by  either  side  in  Canada  were  exchanged,  and  Andre  thus 
obtained  his  freedom  by  their  means,  through  whom  he  had 
lost  it.  The  skeleton  of  the  7th  was  transferred  from  that 
province  to  New  York ;  recruits  and  new  clothing  were  sent 
out  from  England  ;  and  in  the  end  of  December  the  regi 
ment,  including  the  men  lately  discharged  from  Pennsylva 
nia,  marched  into  town  with  tolerably  full  ranks.  Andre  did 
not,  however,  long  remain  in  it :  on  the  18th  January,  1777, 
he  received  a  captaincy  in  the  26th,  which  had  been  so  aug 
mented  that  each  company  consisted  of  64  men,  exclusive  of 
commissioned  officers. 

Sir  William  Howe,  who  now  commanded  in  chief,  had  ap 
peared  on  Long  Island  (where,  indeed,  it  was  supposed  Am- 
herst  had  advised  his  wintering  in  1775-6,  and  thence  com 
manding  the  neighboring  colonies)  in  the  preceding  summer, 
and  had  given  Washington's  army  a  severe  defeat. f  The 
skill  with  which  our  general  availed  himself  of  his  adversa 
ry's  carelessness,  however,  wrested  the  fruits  of  victory  from 
the  English  ;  and  9000  men  were  safely  borne  away,  whose 
retreat  might  have  been  prevented  by  the  least  exercise  of 

*  These  letters  were  communicated  to  me  by  Caleb  Cope,  Esq.,  of  Phila 
delphia,  grandson  of  the  gentleman  to  whom  they  were  addressed.  The 
memory  of  their  writer  was  tenderly  cherished  by  the  young  man  they  so 
constantly  allude  to,  who  in  after-years  could  never  refer  to  Andrews  story 
without  deep  emotion.  The  correspondence  did  not  cease  here;  lettei's 
came  to  Mr.  Cope  up  to  the  time  when  Andre  was  about  to  proceed  to 
meet  Arnold  at  West  Point;  but  unfortunately  they  appear  to  have  been 
lost  or  destroyed. 

I  "  We  have  had  what  some  call  a  battle,  but  if  it  deserves  that  name,  it  was 
the  pleasantest  I  ever  heard  of,  as  we  had  not  received  more  than  a  dozen  shot 
from  the  enemy,  when  they  ran  away  with  the  utmost  precipitation."  —  Lusli- 
ingtoris  Harris;  i:  74. 


VICTORIES  OF  TREXTOX  AXD  PRIXCETOX.  97 

forethought.  New  York  was  occupied  ;  Fort  Washington 
taken  with  its  2000  Americans ;  and  Washington  compelled 
to  retreat  through  Jersey  into  Pennsylvania,  with  Cornwallis 
thundering  at  his  heels  and  pressing  the  pursuit  with  hot 
urgency.  Had  Howe  (as  he  might  easily  have  done)  passed 
a  force  from  Staten  Island  to  Brunswick,  where  much  of  our 
ammunition,  light  artillery,  &c.,  had  been  sent  on  in  advance, 
it  could  have  destroyed  them  all,  and  in  every  human  proba 
bility  have  intercepted  the  retreat  and  crushed  our  army  be 
tween  itself  and  Cornwallis.  This  was  the  opinion,  not  only 
among  our  men,  but  in  the  royal  lines  ;  and  Clinton  had  vain 
ly  urged  that  the  Rhode  Island  expedition  should  have  been 
"  landed  at  Amboy,  to  have  cooperated  with  Lord  Cornwallis, 
or  embarked  on  board  Lord  Howe's  fleet,  landed  in  Dela 
ware,  and  taken  possession  of  Philadelphia."  * 

Our  affairs  now  began  to  look  very  desperate.  We  had 
been  driven  out  of  Canada.  Washington,  though  invested  by 
Congress  with  a  dictatorship,  saw  his  forces  fluctuating  be 
tween  2000  to  3000  men,  disorganized,  and  one  might  have 
feared,  almost  ripe  for  dissolution.  Numbers  in  the  seat  of 
war  were  daily  resuming  fealty  to  the  crown,  and  the  con 
tagion  spread  even  into  the  higher  ranks  of  the  army.f  Con 
gress  had  adjourned  to  Baltimore.  The  paper-money  had 
depreciated.  Lee,  on  whom  many  relied  as  on  a  second 
Charles  of  Sweden,  was  led  away  captive  by  Harcourt's 
dragoons  while  yet  the  pen  was  wet  which  had  testified  to 
Gates  his  contempt  for  his  chieftain :  —  "  entre  nous,  a  cer 
tain  great  man  is  most  damnably  deficient."  At  this  crisis, 
his  strength  swollen  by  militia  to  5000  men,  Washington 
aimed  a  deadly  blow  at  the  chain  of  posts  unwisely  estab 
lished  and  carelessly  maintained  across  Jersey.  Rahl  was 
cut  to  pieces ;  Cornwallis  out-generalled  ;  and  the  victories 
of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  which  in  a  European  campaign 
might  scarce  figure  as  more  than  brilliant  affairs,  were  as  the 

*  Paine's  American  Crisis,  Xo.  I.  —  Sir  H.  Clinton's  MS. 
f  Warren ;  i.  353. 

7 


98  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRL\ 

breath  of  life  to  the  fainting  cause  of  American  Indepen 
dence. 

Howe  might  vainly  console  himself  with  the  reflection  that 
the  neglect  of  his  subordinates  had  invited  surprise,  and  that 
an  exasperated  population  withheld  intelligence  from  their 
Hessian  plunderers.  These  contingencies  he  should  have  pro 
vided  against.  The  fault  was  his  own,  and  it  was  Washing 
ton's  care  to  gloriously  profit  by  it.* 

On  his  arrival  at  New  York,  Andre  had  prepared  and  pre 
sented  to  Howe  a  memoir  upon  the  existing  war.  In  it  he 
doubtless  set  forth  the  conclusions  taught  him  by  a  year's  active 
service  in  Canada,  with  the  astute  and  energetic  Carleton ;  by 
his  temporary  intercourse  as  a  prisoner  with  the  generous 
Schuyler  and  Montgomery,  and  their  followers  in  the  north  ; 
by  his  long  confinement  among  the  rural  population  of  Penn 
sylvania  ;  and  by  the  impressions  he  had  received,  and  the 
comparisons  he  was  able  to  make  of  the  relative  positions  of 
affairs  in  1774,  when  Congress  first  met,  and  in  1777,  when 

*"  There  were  who  thought  (and  who  were  not  silent)  that  a  chain 
across  Jersey  might  be  dangerous.  General  Howe  wrote  to  General  Clin 
ton  thus,  a  few  days  before  the  misfortune,  —  'I  have  been  prevailed  upon 
to  run  a  chain  across  Jersey :  the  links  are  rather  too  far  asunder.'  .  .  .  . 
General  Grant  [was]  principally  to  blame ;  he  should  have  visited  his  posts, 
given  his  orders,  and  seen  they  had  been  obeyed.  ...  I  am  clear  it  would 
have  been  better  if  Sir  W.  Howe  had  not  taken  a  chain  across  Jersey;  but 
General  Grant  is  answerable  for  everything  else The  two  very  judi 
cious  and  ofrlcerlike  movements  of  Lord  Cornwallis  against  Tippoo,  in  1791 
and  1792,  proves  what  he  himself  thinks  of  his  conduct  in  1770.  He  had 
driven  Washington  over  the  Assumption,  and  the  Delaware  was  impassable; 
the  Assumption  no  where  but  at  its  bridge,  that  at  Trenton.  His  Lordship 
held  that  at  Allen's  town ;  he  held  the  string  too.  His  Lordship,  thinking 
that  Washington  would  wait  for  him  till  the  next  day,  deceived  by  his  fires. 
£c.  into  this  belief,  neglects  to  patrole  to  Allen's  town  —  over  which  Wash 
ington's  whole  army,  and  the  last  hope  of  America,  escaped.  I  am  sure  no 
Hessian  Corporal  would  have  been  so  imposed  upon.  .  .  .  'Tis  a  wonder 

Washington  did  not  march  to  Brunswick Unless  we  could  refrain 

from  plundering,  we  had  no  business  to  take  up  winter-quarters  in  a  dis 
trict  we  wished  to  preserve  loyal.  The  Hessians  introduced  it.  Truth 
obliges  me  to  assert,  and  I  have  proofs  in  the  addresses  and  the  letter,  that 
Lord  Percy  and  I  effectually  stopped  it  in  Rhode  Island.  I  could  produc-i 
a  very  curious  proof."  —  Clinton's  MSS. 


HIS  PROMOTION.  —  SIR  CHARLES  GREY.  99 

he  rejoined  the  army.  Since  he  came  to  America  he  had 
kept  up  a  journal  in  which  both  pen  and  pencil  were  tasked 
to  record  his  adventures  and  wanderings  among  Americans, 
Canadians,  and  savages.  Everything  of  interest  that  he 
saw  —  bird,  beast,  or  flower  —  was  preserved  by  his  brush 
in  its  native  hue,  and  the  volume  exhibited  not  only  views 
and  plans  of  the  regions  he  had  traversed,  but  of  the  man 
ners  and  apparel  of  their  inhabitants.  Even  through  captiv 
ity,  he  had  saved  this  precious  memorial  from  the  hands  of 
his  captors ;  and  it  may  well  be  believed  to  have  been  of  ma 
terial  service  to  him  now.  His  memoir  was  well  received ;  — 
Sir  William  was  delighted  with  its  ability  and  intelligence. 
He  at  once  took  the  writer  into  favor ;  and  it  was  perhaps  in 
consequence  that,  on  the  18th  of  January,  1777,  he  got  his 
company  in  the  26th.  But  a  staff  appointment  was  his 
legitimate  sphere,  and  there  was  for  the  time  none  such 
vacant.  He  therefore  remained  on  line  duty.  His  regiment 
was  fortunately  not  one  of  those  that  Tryon  led  in  April, 
1777,  to  Danbury ;  otherwise  he  might  have  met  Benedict 
Arnold  face  to  face,  and  shared  in  the  questionable  glories  of 
what  Clinton  honestly  confesses  to  have  been  "  a  second  Lex 
ington."  *  In  the  beginning  of  the  summer  he  was  named 
aide-de-camp  to  Major- General  Grey. 

Charles  Grey  was  the  fourth  son  of  Sir  Henry  Grey  of 
Ho  wick,  to  whom  he  eventually  succeeded  —  his  next  brother 
being  killed  in  a  duel  by  Lord  Pomfret.  He  came  of  a 
knightly  Northumbrian  family,  and  of  an  ancient  line.  "  The 
Hows  of  Grai,"  says  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  "  is  well  known  infe 
rior  to  no  Hows  in  England,  in  greater  Continuance  of  Hon 
our,  and  for  number  of  great  Howses  sprung  from  it  to  be 
matched  by  none,  but  by  the  noble  Hows  of  Nevel."  At  nine 
teen  he  was  aide  to  Prince  Ferdinand,  and  wounded  at  Min- 
den.  At  the  peace  of  1763,  when  he  retired  on  half-pay, 
he  was  colonel  and  aide  to  the  king.  In  our  war,  he  had 
the  local  rank  of  Major- General,  and  was  distinguished  for 
*  Clinton  MS. 


100  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

his  dashing  enterprise  ;  and  afterwards  served  with  such  credit 
in  other  quarters,  that  he  was,  in  1801,  raised  to  the  peerage 
as  Baron  Grey  de  Howick,  and  subsequently  advanced  to  a 
viscountcy.  So  great  was  the  opinion  of  his  merit  that,  when 
the  mutiny  of  the  Nore  threw  all  England  into  fear  and  con 
fusion,  his  political  opponent,  Sheridan,  advised  Dundas  "  to 
cut  the  buoys  on  the  river,  send  Sir  Charles  Grey  down 
to  the  coast,  and  set  a  price  on  Parker's  head."  By  these 
means  only,  he  said,  could  the  country  be  saved ;  and  lie 
threatened  to  impeach  ministers  that  very  night,  if  they  were 
not  resorted  to.  Grey  brought  home  with  him  a  high  esti 
mate  of  Washington,  though  he  thought  him  constitutionally 
nervous.* 

Personal  friendship  had  now  led  Sir  Charles  to  Howe's 
camp.  The  other  generals  were  all  provided  with  aides.  He 
brought  none  with  him  when  he  arrived  at  New  York  on  the 
3d  of  June,  and  willingly  listened  to  his  general's  recom 
mendation  of  "  a  young  man  of  great  abilities,  whom  for 
some  time  he  had  wished  to  provide  for."  Andre  was  ap 
pointed  his  aide-de-camp,  and  thenceforth  could  have  been 
but  little  with  his  regiment,  though  his  rank  in  it  was  still 
retained.  He  doubtless  accompanied  Grey  in  the  movement 

*  General  Grey  was  father  of  the  celebrated  Reform  Peer,  whose  name 
was  once  in  every  mouth,  and  whom  Cobbett  so  injured  by  the  publication 
of  the  Gn-y  List,  which  showed  that,  when  prime  minister,  he  had  saddled 
his  kindred  on  the  nation,  to  the  rate  of  £170.000  per  annum.  It  was  also 
said  that,  so  far  from  imitating  ''the  fair  platonist,"  Lady  Jane,  his  way  of 
life  might  have  been  classed  by  her  tutor,  old  Roger  Ascham,  with  that 
which  the  young  nobility  of  the  day  brought  home  from  Venice.  An  anec 
dote  of  Gen.  Grey,  whether  true  or  false,  was  told  among  the  tories  in  the 
war.  An  officer  going  home  with  despatches  was  thus  instructed  by  him: 
"  You  will  first  go  to  Lord  G.  Germain;  he  will  ask  you  such  and  such 
questions;  you  will  answer  them  so  and  so.  You  will  then  be  sent  to  Lord 
North,  who  will  ask  you  these  questions;  you  will  thus  answer  them.  You 
will  then  be  sent  to  the  King,  who  will  also  ask  you,  £c. ;  you  are  also  to 
give  him  these  answers.  You  will  then  be  examined  by  the  Queen.  She, 
is  a  sensible  woman.  You  must  answer  with  caution;  but  of  all  things  be 
careful  that  you  say  nothing  that  will  condemn  the  conduct  of  Gen.  Howe.'" 
—  Davis" s  Burr;  ii.  32. 


HOWE'S   SALLY 'fePPO'irevV* JERSEY.  101 

of  force  that  Howe  made  into  Jersey  on  the  14th  of  June, 
but  the  column  to  which  he  was  attached  did  not  come  into 
action.  This  was  at  a  juncture  when  our  army,  inferior  in 
strength,  had  nothing  to  hope  from  being  forced  into  a  gen 
eral  engagement ;  which,  for  that  very  reason,  was  de.-ired 
by  the  enemy.  We  were  encamped  in  a  very  defensible,  but 
by  no  means  impregnable  ground.*  It  was  ihe  British  policy 
to  seduce  us  from  these  lines ;  and  by  a  simulated  retreat, 
they  partially  succeeded.  "  This  feint  of  Sir  William  Howe," 
confesses  Clinton,  "  was  well  imagined  and  well  executed, 
but  Washington  began  to  grow  wary."  The  Americans  fell 
back  with  slight  damage  to  their  posts  in  the  hills,  securing 
the  passes  which  Cornwallis  had  sought  to  occupy ;  and  there 
was  nothing  left  for  the  foe  but  to  return  to  the  place  whence 
he  came,  to  boldly  essay  the  hostile  camp,  or  to  leave  our 
people  in  their  security,  and,  by  intercepting  their  supplies, 
or  even  crossing  the  Delaware,  finally  force  Washington  to 
march  out.  This  last  seemed  to  many  of  the  English  the 
most  feasible  manoeuvre.  "I  had  planned  this  very  move 
in  1779,"  wrote  Clinton,  some  years  later,  "under  promise 
of  early  reinforcements,  and  had  taken  every  previous  step 
to  it ;  but  reinforcements  not  arriving  till  September,  I  was 
obliged  to  relinquish  it."  f  On  this  occasion,  however,  Howe 
thought  it  wisest  to  go  quietly  back  towards  New  York  ; 
whence  he  soon  sailed  with  the  bulk  of  the  troops.  Clin 
ton  was  left  to  hold  the  city  with  what  remained ;  "  making 
in  all  7000 ;  great  proportion  of  which  were  raw  provin 
cials."  | 

From  Sir  Henry's  own  manuscript  notes,  it  may  be  as  well 
to  insert  here  some  further  narrative  of  the  doings  of  the 
royal  arms  on  the  Hudson.  It  will  be  recollected  that,  while 
he  was  "  forbid  to  do  anything  offensive  that  could  endanger 

*  "  In  this  position  Washington  had  the  Rariton  in  front  so  as  [to  be] 
strongly  posted,  but  not  entirely  secure :  for  his  communication  might  have 
irawn  him  from  it."  —  Clinton  MS. 

t  Clinton  MS.  J  Ibid. 


102  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  A'NDRfi. 

New  York,"  it  was  impossible  for  Clinton  to  remain  indiffer 
ent  to  the  fate  of  Burgoyne.     In  his  own  words  :  — • 

"  When  Sir  H.  Clinton  had  received  a  reinforcement  of 
1700  recruits  from  Europe,  and  had  determined  on  a  move 
up  the  Hudson,  he  wrote  to  Sir  W.  Howe  his  intention  and 
his  motives  for  doing  it ;  though  he  considered  an  attempt  on 
the  forts  as  rather  desperate,  he  thought  the  times  required 
such  exertions.  He  feared  he  should  not  succeed,  but  flat 
tered  himself  he  had  nothing  to  apprehend  but  failure  with 
out  any  fatal  consequences  to  New  York.  Sir  W.  Howe  in 
answer  told  him  that  if  his  object  was  not  of  the  greatest 
consequence,  and  almost  certain  of  success,  and  in  a  short 
time,  he  was  ordered  to  return,  and  send  to  Sir  W.  Howe 
the  troops  he  had  moved  with,  as  Washington  reinforced  by 
Putnam  had  been  enabled  to  attack  him  on  the  9th,  and  that 
if  he  was  not  joined  by  the  troops  I  had  moved  with,  or  till 
he  was,  he  could  not  open  the  Delaware.  I  mention  this  fact 
and  Sir  W.  Howe's  reasons  for  withdrawing  the  force  I  had 
moved  with :  had  I  received  this  letter  of  Sir  W.  Howe's 
before  I  had  moved,  it  must  have  stopt  me ;  but  receiving 
it  afterwards,  by  a  miracle  succeeded  in  taking  the  forts.  I 
should  have  felt  myself  satisfied  in  proceeding  had  I  any 
hopes  of  success.  I  had  dispatched  G.  Vaughan  with  1700 
men  to  feel  for  Burgoyne  ;  cooperate  with  him  ;  nay,  join 
him  if  necessary.  Vaughan  had  advanced  near  100  miles 
and  had  40  more  to  go  to  Albany,  and  60  more  to  join  Bur 
goyne.  He  wrote  me  word  the  19th  he  could  hear  nothing 
certain  of  Burgoyne,  but  had  apprehensions.  Alas  !  Bur 
goyne  had  surrendered  the  17th.  Had  I  moved  6  days 
sooner  I  should  have  found  McDougal  there,  and  conse 
quently  must  have  failed ;  besides  I  could  not  risk  a  move 
of  that  sort  unless  Burgoyne  had  expressed  a  wish  that  I 
should;  and  I  did  not  receive  his  answer  accepting  my  offer 
till  the  29th.  Had  I  made  the  attempt  on  the  east  side,  and 
even  beaten  Putnam,  I  had  still  the  Hudson  to  pass,  and  I 
had  no  boats,  nor  no  vessel  to  protect  my  landing:  thus. 


OPERATIONS  ON  THE  HUDSON.  103 

therefore,  I  must  have  failed.  Had  I  delayed  my  attack 
after  I  had  passed  the,  Thunderberg  6  hours,  Putnam  would 
have  passed  that  river  and  gained  the  forts,  for  though  Sir 
James  "Wallace  prevented  his  doing  it  from  Peekskiln,  he 
might  have  done  so  by  a  detour,  and  I  must  have  been  foiled. 
I  tried  the  Impossible :  a  tolerable  good  arrangement,  good 
luck,  and  great  exertion  of  Officers  and  Men  succeeded. 
From  the  information  I  received  just  as  I  was  landing  at 
Howe's  point,  and  which  I  dare  not  communicate  to  anybody, 
I  had  little  hopes  of  doing  more  than  covering  Burgoyne's 
retreat  to  Ticonderoga,  which  I  had  no  doubt  of  his  attempt 
ing  the  12th;  for  as  to  his  supposing  I  could  take  the  forts 
and  penetrate  to  Albany,  and  keep  up  the  communication 
afterwards,  he  could  not  expect  it."* 

This  interesting  statement  refers  to  Clinton's  movement 
against  the  American  works  at  Verplanck's  and  Stony 
Points  —  one  of  the  most  creditable  performances  of  the 
war.  These  works  commanded  the  navigation  of  the  Hud 
son  and  impeded  the  transmission  of  aid  to  Burgoyne.  "  Lord 
Rawdon,  then  aide-de-camp  to  Sir  H.  Clinton,  had  been  sent 
to  reconnoitre  Verplanck's  Point ;  but  he  could  not  get  near 
enough  to  ascertain  the  practicability  of  a  landing."  t  De 
spite  this,  the  English  set  forth  by  water  with  3000  men,  and 
easily  made  good  their  landing  at  Verplanck's,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  river.  Alarmed  lest  their  plan  should  be  to  push 
on  directly  to  Burgoyne,  Putnam  hurried  to  secure  the  passes 
above,  while  Clinton  adroitly  circumvented  him  by  throwing 
2100  of  his  little  army  to  the  western  bank,  and  hastening 
to  attack  our  forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton.  A  dangerous 
and  difficult  mountain  —  the  Donderberg  —  had  to  be  sur 
mounted  ere  his  troops  could  come  to  the  assault ;  and,  des 
titute  of  artillery,  there  was  nothing  left  for  them  but  to 
storm.  It  was  late  in  the  day  when  they  drew  near,  "  by  a 
detour  of  seven  miles,  having  also  a  long  defile  to  pass  under 
a  steep  cliff,  at  the  end  of  which  was  Fort  Montgomery,  con- 
*  Clinton  MS.  f  Ibid. 


104  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

sisting  of  eight  redoubts  joined  by  an  intrenchment,"  That 
post  was  inferior  in  strength  to  Fort  Clinton,  from  which  it 
was  separated  by  a  passable  stream  ;  and  both  were  assailed 
as  the  day  was  closing.  "Had  not  both  these  forts  been 
attacked  at  the  same  instant,  neither  would  have  been  carried 
without  great  loss,"  observes  Sir  Henry,  who  himself  directed 
the  more  dangerous  onset  against  Fort  Clinton.  "  This  attack 
was  delayed  till  that  of  the  left  was  judged  to  have  become 
serious,  and  till  it  was  dark,  that  the  troops  might  be  less 
exposed  in  moving  up  to  it."  The  enterprise  was  successful. 
The  forts  were  carried  with  a  rush ;  and  an  immense  quan 
tity  of  military  stores  were  captured  or  destroyed.  Never 
theless  there  was  a  prodigious  risk  in  the  whole  affair  ;  and 
the  English  leader  candidly  owns  how  much  his  safety  was 
due  to  the  enterprise  of  "  Sir  James  Wallace,  who,  by  stop 
ping  the  rebel  boats  in  Peekskiln,  prevented  Putnam  from 
passing  to  the  forts."  * 

But  however  detrimental  these  successes  were  to  our 
cause,  they  were  more  than  atoned  for  by  the  fall  of  Bur- 
goyne.  That  Clinton's  object  was  the  relief  of  that  general 
is  pretty  certain  ;  and  to  that  extent  his  expedition  was  a 
failure. 

"  Sir  II.  Clinton,  thinking  G.  Burgoyne  might  want  some 
cooperation  (though  he  had  not  called  for  it  in  any  of  his 
letters),  offered  in  his  of  the  12th  September  to  make  an 
attempt  on  the  forts  as  soon  as  the  expected  reinforcements 
should  arrive  from  Europe.  Gen.  Burgoyne  fought  the  bat 
tle  of  Saratoga  on  the  19th,  and  on  the  21st  tells  Gen.  Clin 
ton  that  an  attempt  or  even  a  menace  of  an  attempt  would  be 
of  use.  Sir  II.  Clinton  received  this  letter  the  29th  of  Sep 
tember,  and  moved  the  2nd  of  October.  On  the  27th  Sept., 
G.  Gates  [Burgoyne?]  had  received  information  that  his 
gallies,  gunboats,  &c.,  on  Lake  George  had  been  surprised 
and  destroyed  by  Gen.  Lincoln,  and  he  had  consequently 
lost  his  communication  with  Canada.  'Tis  pity  he  had  not 

*  Clinton  MS. 


OPERATIONS  OX  THE  HUDSON.  105 

instantly  fallen  back  to  recover  them  ;  but  thinking,  'tis  pre 
sumed,  he  was  under  orders  to  Albany,  he  requests  to  know 
of  me  whether  I  can  meet  him  there  or  supply  him  after 
wards,  and  says  he  will  stay  to  the  12th  October  for  my 
answer."  * 

But  the  results  of  the  second  Saratoga  battle,  on  the  7th 
October,  rather  modified  the  British  plans. 

"  On  the  very  day  of  this  action,  by  giving  the  enemy 
jealousy  for  the  East  side,  Sir  H.  Clinton  landed  on  the 
"West,  gained  the  mountain  of  Thunderberg,  and  by  a  tolera 
bly  well  combined  move,  and  the  wonderful  exertion  of  the 
troops  under  his  command,  took  all  the  forts  by  assault."  f 

This  accomplished,  the  partial  attempt  to  succor  Burgoyne 
and  to  bring  him  supplies  was  proceeded  in,  and  Vaughan 
was  embarked  for  that  purpose  — "  after  the  chain  was 
broken,  the  chevaux-de-frieze  removed,  and  provision  for 

5000  men  for  6  months  prepared General  Vaughan 

had  orders  to  proceed  immediately  as  high  as  his  pilots  could 
carry  him  to  feel  for  Burgoyne,  cooperate  with  him,  and  join 
him  if  required." 

But  on  the  13th  October,  Burgoyne  was  compelled  to  open 
negotiations  for  surrender ;  and  neither  Clinton  nor  Vaughan 
accomplished  more  for  his  relief  than  the  destruction  at  Eso- 
pus.  Disappointed  in  their  chief  hope,  the  British  presently 
returned  to  New  York  :  —  that  such  was  mainly  the  motive  of 
the  expedition  sufficiently  appears  by  the  important  private 
memorandums  of  Sir  Henry  himself,  as  above  printed. 

*  Clinton  MS.  t  Ibid. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  British  embark  for  Philadelphia. — Brandywine,  the  Paoli,  and  Ger- 
mantown. —  Andre's  Humanity.  — Occupation  and  Fortification  of  Phil 
adelphia. —  Character  of  the  City  in  1777. 

PRECIOUS  time  was  spent  in  fruitless  attempts  to  bring 
Washington  to  battle  on  equal  ground  in  Jersey,  ere  Howe 
resolved  to  circumvent  our  army  by  means  of  the  fleet,  and 
to  approach  Philadelphia  from  another  quarter.  This  scheme, 
disapproved  by  some  of  his  immediate  subordinates,  was  care 
fully  concealed  from  the  rest  of  the  troops,  who,  on  the  23d 
of  June,  1777,  were  embarked  at  Amboy,  in  perfect  igno 
rance  of  their  destination.*  The  media  scientia  of 'the 
schoolmen  —  the  calculation  of  possible  consequences  of 
events  that  did  not  happen  —  can  alone  determine  the  effect 
of  another  plan  of  the  campaign.  Had  a  powerful  force 
marched  northwardly  to  act  in  connection  with  Burgoyne, 
the  surrender  at  Saratoga  might  have  been  prevented,  the 
royal  army  increased  in  strength,  and  time  still  left  to 
operate  against  Philadelphia  ere  the  season  closed.  A  few 
ships  of  war  threatening  the  New  England  coast  or  cannon 
ading  Boston,  might  have  drawn  to  another  quarter  the  mili 
tia  that  thronged  to  the  aid  of  Gates.  Nor  did  all  his  labor 
eventually  much  better  Howe's  situation.  At  Brunswick  he 
was  but  sixty  miles  from  Philadelphia;  at  Elk,  he  was  sev- 

*  "  I  owe  it  to  truth  to  say  there  was  not,  I  believe,  a  man  in  the 
army,  except  Lord  Cornwallis  and  General  Grant,  who  did  not  reprobate 
the  move  to  the  southward,  and  see  the  necessity  of  a  cooperation  witli 
General  Burgoyne.  .  .  .  General  Clinton  told  Lord  G.  Germain,  April  27th, 
—  and  Sir  W.  Howe  repeatedly,  after  his  return  to  America  —  his  humble 
opinion  that  Philadelphia  had  better  close  than  open  the  campaign,  as  it 
required  an  army  to  defend  it."  — Clinton  MS. 


ACTION   AT  BRAXDYWINE.  107 

enty ;  and  if  our  army's  position  was  less  strong  at  Brandy- 
wine,  its  spirit  was  better  and  its  force  increased. 

When  he  appeared  in  the  Chesapeake,  his  brother  the 
Admiral  with  line  and  plummet  and  in  seaman's  garb  lead 
ing  the  boat  that  guided  the  fleet's  course,  it  was  questioned 
at  Philadelphia  whether  Sir  William  aimed  at  Baltimore,  or 
a  yet  higher  point.  All  doubts  vanished  on  the  25th  of 
August,  when  he  landed.  The  debarcation  was  finished  on 
the  27th ;  and  on  the  28th,  he  marched  seven  miles  and 
fixed  head-quarters  at  the  head  of  Elk,  posting  the  troops  two 
miles  off.  On  the  3rd  of  September,  he  led  part  of  his  army 
to  Aickin's  tavern  ;  the  light  infantry  and  yagers  skirmishing 
with  the  American  advanced  parties  for  a  mile  and  a  half, 
and  losing  a  dozen  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  Knyphau- 
sen  had  been  detached  across  Elk  Ferry  to  Cecil  Court-house 
to  collect  stores,  and  now  rejoined  at  Aickin's ;  and  on  the 
6th,  Grant's  division  also  came  up.  Hence,  by  easy  stages, 
with  Galloway  in  his  coach  following  in  the  rear,  Howe 
passed  on  through  a  fertile  and  friendly  country ;  while  on 
Sunday,  the  24th  of  August,  our  army  had  marched  through 
Philadelphia  to  meet  him.  Cheerful  but  half  naked,  their 
hats  adorned  with  green  boughs,  and  drum  and  fife  sounding 
merrily,  they  came  down  Front  and  up  Chestnut  streets,  and 
so  over  the  Schuylkill.  On  the  llth  of  September,  the  citi 
zens  hearkened  to  the  roar  of  the  artillery ;  and  gathering  by 
groups,  according  to  their  political  inclinations,  in  the  squares 
or  public  places,  speculated  in  hope  or  in  fear  upon  the  re 
sults  of  the  day. 

It  was  an  unfortunate  day  for  America,  but  less  so  than 
might  have  been.  With  13000  men,  and  in  the  best  position 
the  region  afforded,  Washington  waited  the  attack.  He  could 
do  no  better.  By  a  larger  and  better  force,  and  by  manoeu 
vres  as  well  conceived  as  executed,  he  was  surprised  and 
driven  from  the  ground.  At  four  A.  M.,  Howe  and  Corn- 
wallis  marched  from  Kennett's  Square  with  their  left  column, 
led  by  Grey,  Mathew,  and  Agnew,  and  crossing  the  Brandy- 


108  LIFE   OF   MAJOR  AXDR& 

wine  above  and  undiscovered,  fell  on  our  right  flank  and  rear, 
while  Knyphausen  forded  the  stream  in  front.  This  column 
had  advanced  seven  miles  from  Kennett's  Square,  and.  com 
ing  on  the  field  about  ten  A.  M.,  began  a  heavy  cannonade. 
When  it  was  seen  that  Howe  had  arrived,  it  passed  the  ford, 
storming  the  breastworks  we  had  thrown  up.  As  Moncrieff 
rushed  on  with  the  leading  files,  he  saw  an  American  how 
itzer  charged  with  grape,  and  pointed  to  sweep  away,  in  a 
moment  more,  himself  and  all  about  him.  The  matross  stood 
in  the  act  of  applying  the  burning  match  ere  he  followed  his 
retreating  comrades.  "I  will  put  you  to  death  if  you  fire!" 
shouted  Moncrieff;  and  the  man,  startled  from  his  self-pos 
session,  dropped  the  match  and  fled.  Grey's  brigade,  con 
sisting  of  the  loth,  17th,  44th,  and  two  battalions  of  the  42d, 
was  the  reserve  of  Cornwallis's  column,  and  was  not  engaged. 
Its  character  was  so  high,  that  it  was  preserved  intact  as  a 
recourse  in  case  Knyphausen  failed;  in  which  event  Corn- 
wallis  might  have  had  his  hands  full.  And  but  for  the  false 
intelligence  of  Sullivan's  videttes,  who  were  drinking  at  a 
tavern  when  they  should  have  been  scouring  the  roads, 
Washington  would  probably  have  turned  the  tables  on  the 
German,  by  himself  crossing  the  Brandywine  and  crushing 
the  opposite  force  before  the  other  column  came  to  its  aid. 
Nightfall  found  our  army,  its  artillery  destroyed,  in  a  retreat 
that  might  have  easily  been  made  a  route.  Had  the  pursuit 
been  pressed  it  must  have  perished.  The  fatigues  of  the 
day  induced  Howe  to  remain  that  night  on  the  battle-field. 
Since  daybreak,  to  four  P.  M.,  when  the  onset  began,  one 
part  of  his  men  had  marched  seventeen,  the  other  seven 
miles.  Of  the  former,  Grey's  brigade  of  from  2000  to  3000 
choice  troops  were  on  the  spot,  ready  to  go  into  action ;  two 
battalions  of  the  guards  and  four  of  grenadiers  had  been 
astray  in  a  wood  and  little  engaged;  nor  had  the  16th  dra 
goons  been  employed.  The  greater  part  of  Knyphausen's 
column  had  borne  no  active  part,  for  the  retreat  began  almost 
as  soon  as  it  moved  forward.  It  was  very  fortunate  thus 


ACTION  AT  THE  PAOLI  TAVERN.  109 

for  America,  that  the  darkness,  which  came  on  just  as  the 
whole  British  army  was  brought  into  possession  of  our  posi 
tion,  persuaded  Howe  to  discontinue  the  pursuit ;  for  he  had 
at  command  a  force  which,  if  not  perfectly  fresh,  was  abun 
dantly  so  in  comparison  with  the  fugitives,  many  of  whom 
had  marched  as  much  through  the  day  as  Knyphausen,  and 
all  would  have  had  as  long  a  journey  as  their  pursuers  ere 
they  should  be  overtaken.  An  immediate  pursuit  would  have 
gone  far  to  demoralize  and  break  up  our  troops,  and  pre 
vented  many  from  rejoining  their  regiments  who  were  with 
them  the  next  day.* 

Knyphausen's  command  moved  on  the  12th  towards  Ches 
ter  ;  and  on  the  1 6th,  the  sick  and  wounded  being  sent  to 
Wilmington,  the  army  advanced  to  Goshen,  where  the  yagers 
and  light  infantry  dispersed  some  parties  of  our  men.  On 
the  18th,  starting  before  dawn,  it  struck  the  Lancaster  road, 
and  coming  two  miles  towards  Philadelphia,  turned  into  that 
of  Swedes  Ford.  Here  an  opportunity  rose  to  give  Grey's 
division  that  active  service  it  had  missed  on  the  llth.  Wash 
ington  was  advised  on  the  18th  that  the  English  thought  him 
crushed,  and  were  leisurely  bringing  on  their  main  army ; 
having  advanced  into  the  country  only  the  picked  light  troops. 
On  the  19th,  Wayne  wrote  that  he  was  closely  watching 
them,  resolved  to  attack  the  instant  they  moved.  He  had 
approached  within  half  a  mile  of  their  left  flank  at  reveille- 
beat  that  morning,  but  found  theVn  perfectly  supine.  "  There 
never  was  nor  never  will  be  a  finer  opportunity  of  giving 
the  enemy  a  fatal  blow,  than  at  present,  —  for  God's  sake, 
push  on  as  fast  as  possible."  During  the  day  he  kept  on 
guard ;  and,  persuaded  that  his  position  and  force  were  un 
known  to  the  enemy,  was  confident  of  success  in  the  move- 

*  "  They  lost  an  all  important  night,  and  this  was,  perhaps,  their  greatest 
fault  during  a  war  in  which  they  committed  so  many  errors." — Laf.  Autob. 
"  'Tis  pity  Sir  W.  Howe  could  not  have  begun  his  march  at  nightfall  in 
stead  of  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning." — Clinton  MSS.  Napier's  words, 
however,  give  the  best  comment :  "  Had  Caesar  halted  because  his  soldiers 
were  fatigued,  Pharsalia  would  have  been  but  a  common  battle." 


110  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

ments  that  were  to  "  complete  Mr.  Howe's  business."  He 
was  encamped  "in  the  woods  near  the  Paoli  Tavern,  on  the 
Lancaster  road  (which  Andre  had  travelled  before)  about 
three  miles  in  the  rear  of  Howe's  left.  He  had  1500  men 
and  four  guns;  and  Smallwood  with  1150  Maryland  militia, 
and  Gist  with  700  men,  were  to  join  him  the  next  day  to 
harass  Howe  as  he  passed  the  Schuylkill.  Of  course,  it  was 
important  to  break  up  this  design  ;  and  before  one  A.  M.,  of 
the  21st,  Grey  marched  against  him,  through  forests  and  a 
narrow  defile,  with  the  42nd  and  44th,  and  the  2d  light  in 
fantry.  The  nature  of  the  service  was  dangerous.  Wayne's 
corps  was  known  through  the  war  for  its  stubborn  and  des 
perate  conduct  in  fight ;  and  his  whole  own  life  was  charac 
terized  by  a  "  constitutional  attachment  to  the  arbitrament  of 
the  sword."  Surprise  and  speed  were  necessary  to  success,  for 
Smallwood  lay  but  a  mile  off.  To  insure  it,  the  Englishman 
enforced  a  measure  that  he  had  learned  in  Germany,  and  by 
which  he  got  in  America  the  sobriquet  of  No-flint  Grey.  He 
made  his  men  uncharge  their  pieces,  and  knock  out  the  flints. 
Not  a  shot  could  be  fired  ;  they  were  to  rely  entirely  on  the 
bayonet.  Wayne  himself  always  upheld  his  own  faitli  in  the 
marvellous  virtues  of  cold  steel ;  but  though  he  was  apprised 
of  Grey's  movement,  and  took,  as  he  thought,  every  proper 
precaution,  he  had  little  opportunity  on  this  occasion  to  prac 
tise  resistance.  At  four  A.  M.  his  pickets  were  forced,  and 
the  light  of  his  fires  guided  the  enemy  to  his  camp.  The 
Americans,  unable  to  form,  and  struggling  irregularly  or  not 
at  all,  were  instantly  bayonetted.  Our  accounts  put  the 
killed  and  wounded  at  150  ;  the  English  version  says  300 
and  upwards;  two  guns  and  seventy  or  eighty  prisoners  were 
taken,  and  while  Wayne's  men  were  in  hasty  flight,  and 
Smallwood  in  march  for  their  relief,  the  English  with  but 
twelve  casualties  returned  in  triumph  with  eight  wagon-loads 
of  arms,  baggage,  and  stores.  The  army  then  moved  towards 
Valley  Forge,  and  destroyed  what  supplies  were  there  that 
they  could  not  remove.  Thus  we  lost  7,000  barrels  of  flour 


GERMANTOWN.  Ill 

for  one  item.  Having  now  cleverly  got  between  Washing 
ton  and  the  Schuylkill,  Howe  passed  that  stream  unopposed 
below  the  Forge  and  descended  towards  Philadelphia,  de 
stroying  powder-mills,  and  taking  a  few  prisoners  and  cannon 
on  the  route.  On  the  25th,  he  moved  in  two  columns  to 
Germantown ;  and  on  the  26th,  says  a  royal  eye-witness,  at 
eleven  A.  M.,  Cornwallis,  with  3000  men,  and  accompanied 
by  Harcourt,  Erskine,  and  a  cavalcade  of  distinguished  offi 
cers,  as  well  as  Galloway,  Story,  the  Aliens,  and  other  lead 
ing  tories,  entered  the  town  among  the  loudest  acclamations 
of  the  loyal  population  who  had  "  too  long  suffered  the  yoke 
of  arbitrary  power."  Other  citizens  have  described  the  scenes 
of  that  day :  the  grenadiers,  steadfast  and  composed,  splen 
didly  equipped,  with  their  music  sounding  the  long  unheard 
strains  of  God  save  the  King,  as  they  caught  at  the  chil 
dren's  hands  in  passing,  with  friendly  greeting ;  the  bearded 
Hessians,  terrible  in  brass-fronted  helmets,  keeping  step  to 
wild  strains  that  to  the  popular  ear  spoke  of  plunder  and 
pillage  in  every  note  ;  the  closed  houses  ;  and  the  throngs  of 
citizens,  clad  in  their  best  array,  that  lined  the  streets  which 
they  had  patrolled  by  night  since  the  23rd,  in  suspicion  that 
the  retiring  Americans  were  disposed  to  fire  the  town.  A 
deputation  besought  Howe  not  to  give  it  up  to  plunder.  On 
the  25th,  he  sent  a  letter  to  Thomas  Willing,  assuring  the 
people  that  they  should  not  be  disturbed  if  they  remained 
tranquil.  Meantime  the  main  army  rested  at  Germantown, 
while  strong  detachments  moved  against  the  American  posts 
that  still  commanded  the  Delaware  and  prevented  the  arrival 
of  the  fleet. 

The  loss  of  Philadelphia  was  grievous  to  the  Americans, 
and  almost  unlocked  for ;  *  and  Washington  determined,  by  a 

*  "Sept.  19, 1777.  This  morning  about  1  o'clock  an  express  arrived  to 
Congress  giving  an  account  of  the  British  Army  having  got  to  the  Swedes 
Ford  on  the  other  side  of  Schuylkill,  which  so  much  alarmed  the  gentle 
men  of  the  Congress,  the  military  officers,  and  other  friends  to  the  general 
cause  of  American  Freedom,  that  they  decamped  with  the  utmost  precip 
itation  and  in  the  greatest  confusion ;  insomuch  that  one  of  the  delegates, 


112  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

surprise  and  coup-de-main,  to  give  Howe  such  a  blow,  ere 
his  transports  could  come  up,  as  to  overturn  the  plan.  Ger- 
mantown,  where  he  now  lay,  was  a  long,  narrow  village  of 
sombre  moss-grown  houses,  solidly  built  of  a  dark  stone,  and 
each  surrounded  with  its  own  enclosure,  that  extended  for 
two  miles  along  the  road  leading  southwardly  to  Philadelphia. 
The  British  were  encamped  at  right  angles  across  the  town  ; 
Grey's  brigade  being  on  the  line  that  stretched  from  the  lefl 
to  the  Schuylkill.  The  people  of  the  neighborhood  were  not 
open  tories,  but  they  were  averse  to  the  war ;  and  Howe  ap 
pears  to  have  had  a  warning  of  what  was  stirring.  He  after 
wards  denied  that  he  was  surprised  ;  but  it  is  not  probable 
that  he  anticipated  anything  like  so  heavy  an  attack  as  he 
received  from  our  whole  army  at  dawn  on  the  4th  October. 
Sullivan  and  Wayne  led  the  advance,  and  encountered  first 
the  post  where,  with  the  40th,  was  encamped  the  2nd  light  in 
fantry  that  had  given  us  so  much  trouble  at  the  Paoli.  These 
stood  their  ground  for  nearly  an  hour,  till  their  ammunition 
began  to  fail.  Our  men  now  took  ample  revenge.  Driving 
all  before  them  in  their  rage,  they  plied  the  bayonet  furious 
ly  ;  and  it  was  not  until  many  were  thus  slain,  that  they  lis 
tened  to  their  officers  and  gave  quarter.  The  attack  was 
vigorously  pressed,  with  a  promise  of  being  successful ;  but 
a  dense  fog  caused  everything  to  fall  into  confusion.  About 
120  men  of  the  40th  threw  themselves  into  a  large  stone 
house,  from  which  they  kept  up  a  heavy  fire ;  the  drum  beat 
ing  a  parley  to  summon  a  surrender  was  mistaken  for  a  re 
treat  ;  a  panic  seized  our  bewildered  troops  ;  and  while  one 
band  believed  itself  in  the  full  tide  of  victory,  another  would 
be  hastily  retreating  thinking  all  was  lost.  Turning  his  front 
to  the  village,  Grey  led  his  brigade  to  close  quarters  with 
our  people  there,  and  repulsed  them.  They  gave  way  about 

bv  name  Fulsom,  was  obliged  in  a  very  Fulsom  manner  to  ride  off  without 
a  saddle.  Thus  we  have  seen  the  men,  from  whom  we  have  received,  and 
from  whom  we  still  expected  protection,  leave  us  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
(bv  their  accounts)  a  barbarous,  cruel  and  unrelenting  enemy."  —  Morton 
MS. 


GERMANTOWN.  113 

the  same  time  in  other  quarters ;  and  the  retreat  becoming 
general,  the  pursuit  was  maintained  by  the  enemy's  cavalry 
as  far  as  the  Blue  Bell  Tavern,  full  eight  miles.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  in  this  action  the  regulars  on  both  sides  behaved 
with  great  spirit;  and  that  the  American  retreat,  occurring 
as  it  did,  was  the  sudden  result  of  one  of  those  circumstances 
that  no  precaution  can  guard  against  with  new  troops.  But 
though  the  discipline  of  both  armies,  according  to  Grey,  was 
bad,  that  of  ours  was  the  worst.  "  You  have  conquered  Gen 
eral  Howe,"  said  a  foreign  officer  of  rank  to  Washington,  "  but 
his  troops  have  beaten  yours."  On  the  first  and  tremendous 
sound  of  the  firing,  Cornwallis's  grenadiers  took  the  alarm. 
Starting  from  Philadelphia  at  a  full  trot,  they  ran  the  whole 
way  to  Germantown,  and  came  breathless  to  the  field  just  as 
all  was  over.  The  Highlanders,  too,  came  on  at  speed,  keep 
ing  pace  with  the  cavalry.  In  fact,  the  detonations  were  so 
furious  and  incessant  and  from  so  many  quarters,  and  the 
thickness  of  the  fog  so  overwhelming,  that  while  the  com 
bat  lasted,  it  was  impossible  to  tell  in  what  force  or  with 
what  success  the  Americans  came  on.  At  11  A.  M.,  the  pro 
digious  clatter  of  battle  suddenly  hushed,  and  the  retreat  was 
conducted  in  comparative  stillness. 

The  casualties  on  either  side  were  severe.  Chief  among 
the  enemy  was  General  Agnew,  whose  brigade  had  supported 
Grey's.  He  is  said  to  have  been  slain  by  an  inhabitant  who, 
lying  in  ambush,  aimed  at  a  decoration  on  Agnew's  breast, 
and  shot  him  down.  Nor  was  our  loss  slight ;  and  the  next 
day  the  enemy  were  busily  employed  in  burying  our  dead. 
"  Don't  bury  them  with  their  faces  up,  and  thus  cast  dirt  in 
their  faces,"  said  a  kindly-hearted  British  soldier ;  "  for  they 
also  are  mothers'  sons."  It  is  said  by  a  distinguished  Ameri 
can  officer,  who  afterwards  carefully  examined  the  field,  that 
our  retreat  was  providential,  and  the  best  thing  that  could 
have  happened  for  us  ;  since  the  force  in  opposition,  and  the 
thoroughly  defensible  position  of  the  village  (by  reason  of  its 
numerous  stone  houses  with  enclosures,  each  of  which  could 


114  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

be  made  a  stronghold  by  broken  parties  of  the  enemy),  would 
have  brought  about  our  annihilation  with  returning  light. 
Clinton  on  the  contrary  suggests,  in  relation  to  the  un 
happy  delay  which  was  made  before  Chew's  House,  that 
the  40th  occupied,  and  which  was  attacked,  as  the  British 
owned  at  the  time,  with  a  "  singular  intrepidity  "  :  —  "  Had 
Washington  left  a  corps  to  observe  this  house,  and  proceeded, 
there  is  no  saying  what  might  have  been  the  consequence."  * 

During  the  contest,  a  Lieutenant  Whitman,  of  Reading, 
was  struck  down  by  the  enemy,  and  left  for  dead.  He  man 
aged  to  crawl  from  the  scene  to  a  house  in  Washington  Lane, 
where  he  was  sheltered  and  cared  for.  Soon  after  the  action, 
on  discovering  that  an  American  officer  was  thus  concealed 
within  their  lines,  the  British  put  both  Whitman  and  his  host 
under  arrest.  In  this  emergency  the  wounded  man,  having 
had  probably  some  knowledge  of  Andre  during  his  confine 
ment  at  Lancaster  or  Carlisle,  contrived  to  procure  an  in 
terview  with  him  ;  which  terminated  in  Andre's  obtaining 
a  withdrawal  of  the  arrest,  and  permission  for  Whitman  to 
remain  unmolested  in  Germantown  until  he  was  in  a  condi 
tion  to  return  to  his  home.  Such  circumstances  as  these 
present  the  best  evidences  of  the  nature  of  that  disposition 
which  vSo  entirely  endeared  its  possessor  to  all  whom  he  en 
countered. 

A  Philadelphia!!  who,  preserving  friendly  relations  Avith 
the  English,  writes  nevertheless  very  impartially,  thus  de 
scribes  the  posture  of  affairs  on  the  day  after  the  battle,  and 
the  language  then  held  in  the  royal  quarters :  — 

"Oct.  5th.  This  morning  I  went  to  Germantown  to  see 
the  destruction  and  collect,  if  possible,  a  true  account  of  the 
action.  From  the  accounts  of  the  officers,  it  appears  that 
the  Americans  surprised  the  Picquet  Guards  of  the  English, 
which  consisted  of  the  2nd  Battalion  Grenadiers,  some  in 
fantry,  and  the  40th  regiment :  altogether  about  500.  The 
English  sustained  the  fire  of  the  Americans  for  near  an  hour 

*  Clinton  MS. 


GERMANTOWN.  115 

(their  numbers  unknown)  when  they  were  obliged  to  retreat, 
the  ammunition  of  the  Grenadiers  and  Infantry  being  ex 
pended.  The  40th  regiment  retreated  to  Chew's  House, 
being  about  120  men,  and  supported  the  fire  of  the  Ameri 
cans  on  all  sides.  The  Americans  came  on  with  an  unusual 
firmness,  came  up  to  the  doors  of  the  house,  which  were  so 
strongly  barricaded  they  could  not  enter.  One  of  the  Amer 
icans  went  up  to  a  window  on  the  side  of  the  house  to  set 
fire  to  it,  and  just  as  he  was  putting  a  torch  to  the  window 
he  received  a  bayonet  through  his  mouth  which  put  an  end 
to  his  existence.  The  Americans  finding  the  fire  very  se 
vere  retreated  from  the  house :  a  small  party  of  the  Ameri 
cans,  which  had  gone  in  near  the  middle  of  Germantown,  and 
had  sustained  the  fire  in  the  street  for  some  time,  perceived 
the  British  coming  up  in  such  numbers  that  they  retreated. 
General  Grey  with  5000  men  pursued  them  to  the  Swedes 
Ford.  His  men  being  very  much  fatigued  and  very  hungry 
and  the  Americans  running  so  fast,  that  the  General  gave 
over  the  chase,  and  returned  to  his  old  encampment.  The 
greatest  slaughter  of  the  Americans  was  at,  and  near  to  Chew's 
Place  :  most  of  the  killed  and  wounded  that  lay  there  were 
taken  off  before  I  got  there ;  but  three  lay  in  the  field,  oppo 
site  to  Chew's  Place.  The  Americans  were  down  as  far  as 
Mrs.  Maganet's  tavern.  Several  of  their  balls  reached  near 
to  Head  Quarters.  From  all  which  accounts  I  apprehend, 
with  what  I  have  heard,  that  the  loss  of  the  Americans  is 
the  most  considerable.  After  I  had  seen  the  situation  at 
Chew's  House,  which  was  exceedingly  damaged  by  the  balls 
on  the  outside,  I  went  to  Head  Quarters,  where  I  saw  Ma 
jor  Balfour,  one  of  General  Howes  aide-de-camps,  who  is 
rery  much  enraged  with  the  people  around  Germantown  for 
not  giving  them  intelligence  of  the  advancing  of  Washington's 
army  ;  and  that  he  should  not  be  surprised  if  General  Howe 
was  to  order  the  country  for  12  miles  round  Germantown  to 
be  destroyed,  as  the  people  would  not  run  any  risque  to  give 
them  intelligence  when  they  were  fighting  to  preserve  the 


116  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

liberties  and  properties  of  the  peaceable  inhabitants.  On 
our  setting  off  we  see  His  Excellency  the  General  attended 
by  Lord  Cornwallis  and  Lord  Chewton  :  the  General  not 
answering  my  expectations."  * 

At  this  time  the  grenadier  and  the  light  infantry  company  of 
each  regiment  was  separated  from  its  companions,  and  mar 
shalled  respectively  in  battalions  ;  which  explains  the  apparent 
weakness  of  some  of  the  English  corps,  thus  deprived  of  a 
large  part  of  their  nominal  strength.  On  the  19th  October, 
the  army  moved  at  daylight  for  Philadelphia  ;  McLane,  and 
a  few  American  light-horse  disguised  as  British,  following 
close  on  their  heels  to  the  heart  of  the  city,  picking  up  a  few 
royal  officers  and  just  missing  the  adjutant-general  and  Howe 
himself. f  The  General's  quarters  were  at  the  house  of  our 
General  Cadwalader,  who  was  with  Washington.  His  men, 
in  fine  condition  and  anxious  to  be  led  against  the  Ameri 
cans,  were  encamped  from  below  Kensington  on  the  Dela 
ware  nearly  to  the  Schuylkill.  The  cause  named  in  de 
spatches  for  this  move  was  to  obtain  a  more  convenient 
position  for  the  reduction  of  our  river-forts  ;  but  in  cam}) 
it  was  attributed  to  the  lines  at  Germantown  being  too  large 
for  ready  defence.  The  experience  of  the  4th  was  not  lost. 

*  Morton  MS. 

t  Allan  McLane  was  one  of  the  best  men  in  our  service.  In  the  emer 
gency  of  the  war,  he  consumed  all  the  table  and  household  linen  of  his  fam 
ily  in  clothing  his  troopers,  and  throughout  was  as  active  in  our  cause  as 
he  was  intelligent  and  brave.  On  one  occasion  he  entered  Philadelphia 
disguised  as  a  countryman;  and  having  transacted  his  business,  was  re 
turning  to  camp,  when  he  was  overhauled  by  an  English  picket.  The 
commanding  officer  questioned  him  narrowly;  but  the  supposed  peasant 
was  adroit  in  his  replies,  and  ready  to  agree  that  Washington  would  not 
adventure  an  attack.  The  Englishman  gave  him  meat  and  drink,  and  dis 
missed  him  after  he  was  thoroughly  warmed  at  the  watch-lire.  McLane  hur 
ried  to  his  own  station,  led  out  his  troopers  and  some  infantry,  and  pres 
ently  brought  away  captive  the  whole  party  of  the  outpost  that  had  so 
hospitably  entertained  him.  Had  he  failed  in  the  onset,  or  been  taken,  his 
fate  would  certainly  have  been  the  gallows.  This  authentic  anecdote  shows 
that  a  patriotic  soldier  will  shrink  from  no  means  of  helping  the  state  at  the 
peril  of  his  own  life. 


OCCUPATION  AND  FORTIFICATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA.    117 

Howe's  plan  was  now  to  fortify  this  city,  so  that  it  could  be  held 
by  a  small  garrison,  while  he  took  the  field.  The  troops  that 
entered  with  Cornwallis  had  been  quartered  at  the  State 
House,  the  Bettering  (or  Poor)  House,  &c.,  and  had  at  once 
set  to  fortifying  the  river  front  against  our  ships  and  galleys. 
The  disposition  made  of  the  main  army  placed  the  Hessian 
grenadiers  on  Noble  and  Callowhill,  between  oth  and  7th 
streets ;  the  British  grenadiers,  4th,  40th,  and  55th,  &c.,  on 
the  north  side  of  Callowhill,  from  7th  to  14th  streets  ;  eight 
other  regiments  were  on  the  high  grounds  of  Bush  Hill,  from 
14th  Street  in  about  a  line  with  Vine  to  the  upper  Schuylkill 
Ferry,  near  which  was  a  Hessian  post ;  while  the  yagers  were 
on  a  hill  at  22d  Street  and  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  Infantry 
corps  were  at  8th,  near  Green  streets  and  by  13th,  on  the 
Ridge  Road.  The  16th  dragoons  and  three  foot  regiments 
were  by  a  pond  between  Vine  and  Race,  and  8th  and  12th 
streets ;  and  a  body  of  yagers  at  the  Point  House  on  the 
Delaware.  When  winter  came  on,  the  men  were  quartered 
in  the  public  buildings  and  in  private  houses,  and  in  the  old 
British  barracks  in  the  Northern  Liberties.  The  artillery 
were  on  Chestnut,  from  3d  to  6th  streets,  and  their  park  in 
the  State-House  Yard,  now  Independence  Square.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  town,  ten  redoubts,  connected  by  strong 
palisades,  were  erected,  from  the  mouth  of  Conoquonoke 
Creek,  on  the  Delaware  near  Willow  Street,  to  the  Upper  or 
Callowhill  Street  Ferry.  They  were  thus  situated  :  —  near 
the  junction  of  Green  and  Oak  streets,  where  the  road  then 
forked  for  Kensington  and  Frankford  ;  a  little  west  of  Noble 
and  2nd  streets ;  between  5th  and  6th,  and  Noble  and  Button- 
wood  streets  ;  on  8th  street,  between  Noble  and  Buttonwood ; 
on  10th,  between  Button  wood  and  Pleasant ;  on  Buttonwood, 
between  13th  and  Broad;  on  15th,  between  Hamilton  Street 
and  Pennsylvania  Avenue ;  at  18th  Street  and  Pennsylvania 
Avenue;  at  21st  and  Callowhill  streets;  and  on  the  Schuyl 
kill  bank  near  the  Upper  Ferry.  These  works  were  begun 
on  the  1st  of  October.  The  country  before  them  towards 


118  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

the  Schuylkill  was  hilly,  but  towards  the  Delaware  level  and 
comparatively  open,  though  dotted  with  woods  and  cut  up  by 
the  stout  rail-fences  of  farms.  The  latter  were  soon  seized 
for  fuel  by  the  English,  and  orchard  and  grove  went  down 
for  the  palisades  and  abatis  of  the  works ;  the  lines  of  which 
were  still  evident  in  1780,  as  well  as  the  ruined  houses  and 
defaced  fields  they  had  occasioned.  The  work  at  the  right, 
or  Delaware  end,  was  a  large,  square  battery,  with  a  handsome 
saw-shaped  parapet,  each  redan  of  which  held  three  men.* 
On  the  23d  of  October,  a  body  of  English  brought  up  the 
floating  bridge  from  the  lower  (Gray's),  and  established  it  at 
the  Middle  Ferry,  where  it  was  guarded  by  the  camp  of  the 
71st,  and  a  fascine  redoubt  at  Chestnut  Street.  It  was 
thought  by  some,  however,  that  the  Upper  Ferry,  as  nearer 
to  the  camp  and  possessing  advantages  of  ground,  was  its 
proper  place. 

It  is  difficult  to  recognize  to-day  the  Philadelphia  of  1777, 
though  it  was  then  the  largest  and,  in  many  senses,  the  me 
tropolitan  city  of  America.  Its  extent  was  from  Christian 
Street  on  the  south  to  Callowhill  on  the  north,  and  its  greatest 
width  east  and  west  was  to  9th  Street,  between  Arch  and 
Walnut.  Its  legitimate  population,  when  all  were  at  home 
who  were  now  with  our  army,  may  have  possibly  approached 
30,000.  The  exact  returns  of  the  city  and  liberties,  made  to 
Howe,  in  October,  1777,  show  4,941  males  under  eighteen; 
4,482  over  eighteen  and  under  sixty;  and  12,344  females 
of  all  ages  ;  a  total  of  21,767.  The  only  streets  parallel  with 
the  river,  that  were  closely  built  up,  were  3d,  Water,  and 
Front; — groves  arid  gardens,  hills  and  ponds,  were  inter 
spersed  through  the  greater  portion  of  the  place.  Above 
6th  or  7th  streets  was  generally  open  country,  and  the  low 
meadows  of  Moyamensing  and  Passyunk  abounded  in  game. 
The  Delaware  shore  was  open  in  places  where  there  were 
not  wharves ;  and  the  better  classes  resided  in  its  vicinity,  in 

*  The  streets  are  named  as  they  now  exist,  without  regard  to  the  open 
lands  when  the  works  were  thrown  up. 


CHARACTER  OF  PHILADELPHIA  IX  1777.  119 

Water,  and  Market,  and  below  Dock  in  Chestnut  and  Walnut 
streets ;  after  the  war  their  mansions  became  the  resorts  of 
trade.  Such  as  it  was,  Jefferson  declares  Philadelphia  to 
have  been  handsomer  than  London,  far  handsomer  than 
Paris. 

Social  rank  too  was  strongly  marked.  The  gentry  con 
sisted  as  well  of  the  original  Quaker  families  —  rich,  respecta 
ble,  but  by  religion  averse  to  the  gayeties  of  the  world  —  as 
of  another  class,  chiefly  of  the  English  church,  who  often 
were  or  had  been  connected  with  the  proprietary  government, 
and  who  gave  its  tone  to  the  fashionable  society  of  the  day. 
Many  of  these  had  travelled  abroad,  and  their  houses  were 
decorated  with  valuable  prints,  or  copies  of  great  masters. 
Lord  Carlisle  describes  the  good  style  of  living  among  the  chief 
people  in  1778 ;  and  the  pleasures  of  the  table  being  almost 
the  only  carnal  vanity  that  it  was  lawful  for  a  Quaker  to  in 
dulge  in,  we  need  not  wonder  that  even  then  the  city  was  fa 
mous  for  its  choice  Madeira  and  French  wines,  and  its  West 
India  turtle.  John  Adams  went  into  ecstasies  over  the  fare 
that  was  set  before  him.  Chastellux  says  the  formal  dinner- 
hour  was  five  or  six  p.  M.,  and  goes  into  the  details  of  the  re 
past  as  minutely  as  Adams :  the  roast  meat  and  warm  side- 
dishes,  the  sweet  pastry  and  confectionary ;  and,  the  cloth  being 
removed,  the  fruit  and  nuts,  the  toast-drinking,  and  the  coffee 
that  warned  the  guests  to  rise.  The  ladies  he  found  singularly 
well-informed  and  attractive,  and  praises  the  skill  with  which 
the  harpsichord  was  touched,  and  the  pretty  timidity  of  the 
songstress.  They  dressed,  he  says,  with  elegance.  Another 
Frenchman  paints  them  as  tall  and  well-formed ;  their  feat 
ures  regular,  and  complexions  fair  but  often  without  color ; 
their  carriage  less  graceful  than  noble.  The  hair  was  often 
dressed  without  powder,  and  brought  up  high  over  the  top  of 
the  head.  It  was  the  belles  of  this  place  and  time  whom 
Mrs.  Adams  characterized  as  "  a  constellation  of  beauties." 
"  With  what  ease,"  says  another  lady,  "  have  I  seen  a  Chew, 
a  Penn,  an  Oswald,  an  Allen,  and  a  thousand  others,  enter- 


120  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

tain  a  large  circle  of  both  sexes ;  the  conversation,  without 
the  aid  of  cards,  never  flagging  nor  seeming  in  the  least 
strained  or  stupid."  The  leaders  of  this  circle  were  decid 
edly  loyal ;  they  rather  ignored  Mrs.  Washington  when  she 
passed  through  the  town  in  1775-6,  and  were  in  the  height 
of  their  glory  during  Howe's  occupation ;  of  all  which  the 
whigs  took  ample  revenge,  by  shutting  them  out  from  the 
assemblies,  after  the  British  had  gone  away.  Nevertheless 
it  may  be  remarked,  that  probably  in  no  other  American  city 
is  there  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  better  society  composed 
of  the  same  families  whose  members  constituted  it  a  century 
ago  as  in  Philadelphia.*  The  dress  of  the  gentry  was  gen 
erally  a  little  in  arrear  of  the  English  fashions.  Powdered 
heads  with  clubs  and  queues ;  silver  or  gold-laced  coats  of 
broadcloth,  of  almost  every  hue  save  red  (which  color,  on 
any  but  a  soldier's  back,  bespoke,  at  this  time,  "  a  Creole,  a 
Carolinian,  or  a  dancing-master  ")  ;  knee-breeches  and  stock 
ings,  low  shoes  and  large  buckles,  made  up  their  attire.  Gold 
watches  were  rare  ;  silver  were  used,  even  by  men  of  rank. 
Every  one  of  a  certain  class  was  at  least  known  by  appear 
ance  ;  a  strange  gentleman  was  instantly  observed.  Many 
of  these  large-acred  men  were  moderate  in  their  political 
views,  favoring  neither  extreme,  but  content  to  abide  the 
result.  Some,  indeed,  embarked  their  all  on  either  venture. 
Cadwalader  and  Dickinson  followed  Washington  ;  Galloway, 
Allen,  Clifton,  sided  with  the  crown ;  but  the  most  adopted 
the  resolution  of  Ross,  who,  says  Graydon,  stuck  to  his  ease 
and  Madeira,  and  declared  for  neutrality ;  let  who  would  be 
king,  he  well  knew  that  he  should  be  subject.  The  large  pri 
vate  houses  were  few,  but  their  appearance  was  stately  and 
imposing.  That  in  High,  near  6th  Street,  occupied  as  Sir 

*  Burnaby,  who  travelled  through  America  in  1760,  particularly  notices 
the  beauty  and  elegance  of  the  women  of  this  city,  and  the  love  of  pleasure 
and  the  cultivated  tone  that  distinguished  its  society.  In  1778,  the  reader 
will  be  amused  to  hear  that  among  the  young'  ladies  of  Philadelphia  there 
were  no  books  so  charming  as  Juliet  Grenville,  Caroline  Melmuth,  and  the 
History  of  Mr.  Joseph  Andrews. 


CHARACTER  OF  PHILADELPHIA  IX   1777.  121 

William   Howe's   quarters,  was  subsequently  Washington's 
abode. 

The  distinction,  so  strictly  drawn  before  the  war,  between 
the  gentleman  and  the  tradesman,  had  not  yet  worn  out ;  and 
people  still  dressed  and  lived  according  to  their  station.  The 
workman  was  apparelled  with  leather  breeches,  checked 
shirt,  coarse  flannel  jacket,  and  neat's  hide  shoes.  Porridge 
was  the  morning  and  evening  meal.  Domestic  servants 
were  usually  negro  slaves,  or  German  and  Irish  redemp- 
tioners,  who  were  bought  and  sold  for  a  term  of  years.  The 
generality  of  houses  were  plainly  furnished  with  rush-bot 
tomed  chairs,  pewter  platters,  wooden  trenchers,  delft-ware, 
and  the  like.  Silver  tankards  and  China  punch-bowls  were 
evidences  of  prosperity,  as  were  the  small  mirrors  in  wooden 
frames,  and  the  mahogany  tea-boards  that  are  still  to  be  some 
times  met  with  in  the  lumber-rooms  of  old-time  houses. 
Glass  tumblers  were  rarely  seen  ;  a  dipper  for  the  punch 
bowl,  or  a  gourd  or  cup  for  the  water-pail,  supplied  those 
who  did  not  have  recourse  to  the  vessel  itself.  About  a 
dozen  churches  were  to  be  found  in  the  town ;  but  the  Amer 
icans  had  removed  all  the  bells  ere  Howe's  arrival,  lest  they 
should  be  melted  by  the  enemy.  Chastellux  draws  a  strik 
ing  picture  of  the  contrast  between  the  silent  watchfulness  of 
the  Quaker  service  and  the  music  and  chanting  of  the  next 
place  of  worship  he  entered,  which  appears  to  have  been  one 
of  the  Church  of  England.  The  streets  were  but  in  part 
paved  and  lighted ;  and  bridges  in  several  places  were 
thrown  across  Dock  Creek,  which  flowed  up  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  town.  As  for  the  inclinations  of  the  majority 
of  the  people  that  Howe  found  there,  it  seems  clear  that  they 
were  loyal,  though  indisposed  perhaps  to  take  an  active  part. 
A  proposition  to  blacken  the  front  of  every  tory's  house,  that 
was  in  vogue  among  the  ultra  whigs  on  the  return  of  the 
city  to  the  American  sway,  was  quietly  put  aside  lest, 
it  would  seem,  it  should  proclaim  their  strength.  Just  so 
the  Romans  forbade  a  distinguishing  livery  to  their  slaves  ; 


122  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

quantum  periculum  immineret  si  servi  nostri  numerare  nos 
ccepissent.  Dr.  Franklin  says  that  the  Quakers,  then  a  nu 
merous  and  wealthy  people  in  Pennsylvania,  had  given  to 
the  Revolution  "  every  opposition  their  art,  abilities  and  in 
fluence  could  suggest " ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  ill-usage 
which  many  of  the  sect  received  from  the  whigs  during  the 
war  would  have  led  to  armed  resistance,  were  such  a  step 
consistent  with  their  pacific  principles.  As  it  was,  their 
sympathies  were  largely  with  the  British  ;  nor  were  there 
wanting  others  who,  unrestrained  by  conscientious  scruples, 
were  apparently  ready  to  serve  the  crown.  Nor,  however 
we  may  condemn  their  actions  who  whether  passively  or 
actively  resisted  American  Independence,  should  we  uni 
versally  impugn  their  motives.  The  lot  of  the  tories  of  the 
Revolution  was  cast  in  the  same  land  with  the  whigs ;  their 
education  was  under  the  same  political  and  social  in 
fluence  ;  many  of  them  were  of  character  unblemished  by 
aught  but  the  final  heresy,  and  of  families  honorably  identi 
fied  through  generations  with  the  history  of  the  country  and 
with  its  private  benefactions  ;  some  gave  their  lives,  others 
princely  estates,  to  witness  the  sincerity  of  their  belief.  To 
the  one  side  as  to  the  other  we  may  look  for  and  find  equally 
conduct  susceptible  of  the  imputation  of  pure  or  of  impure 
instigation.  That  the  tories  erred,  was  and  is  the  conviction 
of  our  side  of  the  house.  The  very  act  by  which  they 
thought  to  establish  their  fidelity  sealed  their  guilt.  But  the 
standard  of  success,  by  which  they  are  so  often  judged,  is  a 
poor  test  of  truth.  "Weighed  in  this  scale,  another  turn  to 
affairs  would  have  made  them  heroes  and  justified  the  old 
Jacobite  paradox  :  — 

Treason  doth  never  prosper —  what's  the  reason? 
Why,  when  it  prospers,  'tis  no  longer  treason. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Affairs  at  Philadelphia.  —  Disorders  and  Discontents.  —  Fall  of  Eed  Bank. 
—  Andre  follows  Grey  with  Howe  to  Whitemarsh.  —  Character  of  Sir 
William  Howe. 

IN  the  spring  of  1777  a  clever  Philadelphia  writer  had 
divided  the  people  into  five  classes.  The  Rank  Tories  came 
first.  The  Moderate  Tories  were  such  as  preferred  the 
English  connection  of  1763,  valued  worldly  prosperity,  hated 
New  England,  and  loved  the  Rank  Tories.  The  Timid 
Whigs  distrusted  American  power,  the  cost  of  the  war,  and 
the  continental  paper-money ;  but  were  not  disinclined  to 
Independence,  if  it  could  be  got.  Avarice  was  supposed  to 
be  their  mainspring.  The  Furious  Whigs,  says  the  writer, 
injure  the  cause  of  Liberty  as  much  by  their  violence  as  the 
Timid  Whigs  by  their  fears.  They  think  the  destruction  of 
Howe's  army  less  important  than  the  detection  and  punish 
ment  of  the  most  insignificant  tory ;  that  the  common  forms 
of  justice  should  be  suspended  towards  a  tory  criminal ;  and 
that  a  man  who  only  speaks  against  our  common  defence 
should  be  tomahawked,  scalped,  and  roasted  alive.  They  are 
likewise  all  cowards,  who  skulk  under  the  cover  of  an  office, 
or  a  sickly  family,  when  they  are  called  on  to  oppose  the  foe 
in  the  field.  Woe  to  the  community  that  is  governed  by 
this  class  of  men.  Lastly,  he  enumerates  the  Staunch  Whigs 
—  temperate,  firm,  and  true ;  friends  to  their  country,  but 
holding  life  and  goods  as  less  than  American  Independence. 
The  three  orders  first  named  now  prevailed  in  Philadelphia ; 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  majority  of  them  owed 
to  this  circumstance  their  conversion  to  opposite  sentiments. 
The  conduct  of  the  royal  army  was  far  from  satisfactory. 


124  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

The  Quakers,  habitually  benevolent  yet  tenacious  of  the  rights 
of  property,  were  shocked  at  once  by  its  looseness  of  morals 
and  its  severity  of  discipline.  Their  effects  had  been  already 
diminished  by  American  exactions,  yet  they  were  reported 
to  have  made  a  free  gift  of  ,£6,000  to  the  British  on  their 
arrival,  and  to  have  subsequently  been  called  on  for  £20,000 
more.  Their  first  grievance  was  the  pillaging  to  which  the  cit 
izens  were  subjected,  and  to  which  many  of  the  army  became 
so  accustomed  during  the  war,  that  its  reduction  on  the  peace 
was  the  means,  according  to  Scott,  of  inundating  Great  Brit 
ain  with  ruffians  of  every  description  ;  so  that  in  Edinburgh 
alone  six  or  seven  disbanded  soldiers  would  be  under  sen 
tence  of  death  at  the  same  time.  While  yet  at  Germantown, 
the  33rd,  though  a  pattern  regiment  in  the  field,  was  distin 
guished  for  its  light  fingers  ;  but  the  Hessians  were  the  bold 
est  operators.  Their  pay,  which  was  to  come  from  their  own 
sovereign,  was  not  provided  regularly,  and  their  discipline 
consequently  was  bad  enough  to  give  Howe  trouble  in  cor 
recting  it.  With  the  English  privates  they  did  not  get  on 
pleasantly  ;  arrogant,  full  of  the  idea  of  immediate  allotments 
of  land,  and  of  living  in  free  quarters  with  unlimited  license 
to  plunder,  they  incensed  the  inhabitants  to  such  a  degree, 
that  many  a  farmer  who  hesitated  to  slay  his  fellow-country 
men,  thought  as  little  when  he  had  the  opportunity  to  shoot 
a  Hessian  as  a  hawk.  Their  officers  could  not  understand 
why  war  should  not  be  waged  here  as  they  had  seen  it  in 
Europe.  "  No  American  town,"  they  said,  "  has  been  laid 
under  contribution ;  and  what  is  there  to  destroy  ?  Wooden 
houses  deserted  of  their  inhabitants,  pigs,  and  poultry  !  " 
In  the  general  confusion  that  prevailed  between  the  arrival 
of  the  army  and  its  final  going  into  quarters,  no  doubt  un 
usual  license  prevailed ;  and  the  newspapers  of  the  day  are 
filled  with  notices  of  robberies,  several  of  them  upon  British 
officers.  Seventeen  watchmen  were  hitherto  sufficient  to 
protect  the  city  ;  but  when  the  army  and  fleet  swelled  the 
population  to  the  neighborhood  of  50,000,  a  hundred  and 


DISORDERS  AND  DISCONTENTS.  125 

twenty  were  scarce  thought  enough.  A  stringent  proclama 
tion  of  the  General's  as  to  these  practices  was  issued  on 
the  7th  November ;  but  it  proved  a  dead  letter  against  the 
disorders  that  in  one  or  another  form  had  irritated  some  of 
the  best  people.  The  neighboring  farms  were  freely  spoiled 
by  the  soldiery.  On  the  28th  September  one  of  Harcourt's 
dragoons  had  four  hundred  lashes  for  such  an  offence,  and 
another  was  hanged  ;  and  their  commander  gave  the  utmost 
offence  to  the  distressed  proprietors  by  his  peremptory  re 
fusal  to  listen  to  their  intercessions  to  spare  the  backs  and 
the  lives  of  his  troopers  who  had  robbed  the  king's  liegemen. 
About  the  same  time  a  foraging  party  brought  in  a  great 
number  of  cattle  from  the  neighborhood  of  Darby,  to  the 
discontent  of  their  owners.  On  the  19th  October  a  hundred 
Hessians  went  foraging,  or  rather  robbing,  among  the  farms 
where  now  stands  the  Naval  Asylum.  Their  officer  per 
mitted  them  to  take  all  the  vegetables  they  could  find.  A 
person  interested  thus  describes  the  scene :  — 

"  Being  afraid  they  would  take  our  cabbage,  I  applied  for 
a  guard  for  the  house  and  garden,  which  was  immediately 
granted,  and  by  that  means  prevented  our  cabbage  from 
being  plundered.  After  they  had  taken  all  John  King's 
cabbage  they  marched  off.  [I]  brought  our  cabbage  home. 
It  was  surprizing  to  see  with  what  rapidity  they  run  to  and 
with  what  voraciousness  they  seized  upon  John  King's  cab 
bage  and  potatoes,  who  remained  a  silent  spectator  to  their 
infamous  depredations." 

The  Hessians  repeated  their  visit  the  next  day,  taking 
everything  in  the  way  of  hay,  vegetables,  &c.,  that  they 
could  lay  hands  upon,  until  a  squad  of  Harcourt's  dragoons 
arrived  and  interfered,  and  made  them  go  back.  But  for 
weeks  the  thing  was  continued  ;  the  officers  sanctioned  the 
plunder  of  vegetables,  &c.,  till  the  people  were  thoroughly 
provoked.  They  were  even  compelled  at  last  to  remove  and 
conceal  their  fences  lest  the  British  should  take  them  for 
fuel  •  and  the  fields  were  thus  left  open  and  unprotected. 


126  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRfi. 

Nor  was  it  till  the  9th  January,  1778,  when  the  patrol  was 
ordered  to  stop  and  examine  every  one  found  in  the  streets 
without  a  lantern  between  tattoo  (8.30  P.  M.)  and  rev 
eille,  that  a  real  check  was  given  to  the  nocturnal  house 
breaker.* 

A  succession  of  skirmishes  had  ensued  along  the  lines  ever 
since  the  British  arrived.  On  the  27th  September,  a  can 
nonade  was  kept  up  from  9  to  10  A.M.  between  four  guns 
in  their  shore-batteries  and  our  little  fleet  of  a  frigate  of  34, 
and  a  ship  of  18  guns,  four  row-galleys,  and  a  schooner,  till 
the  frigate  grounded  and  struck,  and  the  others  retired.  The 
schooner  as  she  came  down  lost  her  foremast  and  was  aban 
doned.  At  3  P.M.,  about  100  of  our  men  attacked  about  30 
British  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Naval  Asylum, 
(probably  of  Ilarcourt's  dragoons  who  were  posted  there,)  and 
killed  or  wounded  three  of  their  officers  and  two  men.  On 
the  4th  October,  after  shots  had  been  exchanged  for  an  hour 
without  effect,  three  American  columns,  with  two  field-pieces, 
appeared  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  at  the  Middle 
Ferry,  and  opened  a  general  fire  on  30  dismounted  dragoons 
who  guarded  it.  Reinforcements  arriving  to  the  latter,  our 
men  retreated  leaving  their  guns  by  the  water-side,  but  soon 
returned  and  bore  them  away.  Only  one  man  (an  Ameri 
can)  was  wounded  in  this  affair,  which  was  witnessed  by 
many  of  the  citizens.  On  the  6th,  300  wounded  British 
were  brought  from  Germantown  and  lodged  in  the  Seceders' 

*  As  the  necessity  of  the  case  had  so  long  failed  to  produce  such  an  order, 
we  may  suppose  some  personal  motive  now  prevailed.  Perhaps  the  affair 
last  preceding  its  appearance  may  have  had  an  effect.  The  following  notice 
is  from  the  Pennsylvania  Ledger,  Jan.  7,  1778.  It  would  be  curious  if  the 
initials  referred  to  Andre:  — "Three  Guineas  Reward.  Was  stolen  out  of 
a  house  in  Walnut  Street,  Sunday  evening  last,  the  following  articles,  viz. 
A  claret  coloured  ratteen  suit  of  clothes,  lined  with  hlue  satin,  with  span 
gled  gold  buttons;  a  pair  of  white  cassimer  breeches;  some  shirts  marked 
J.  A.  with  several  other  things:  also  a  ladies  black  silk  hat  and  cloak. 
Whoever  will  secure  the  thief  and  effects  shall  receive  the  above  reward; 
and  for  the  effects  without  the  thief  Two  Guineas  upon  their  delivery  to  the 
Printer/' 


HOWE'S  POSITION.  127 

and  the  Pine  Street  Presbyterian  churches,  and  the  old 
theatre ;  and  the  worst  injured  in  the  City  Hospital.  The 
wounded  Americans,  who  were  already  neglected,  were 
placed  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  in  two  new  houses 
in  4th  Street.  On  the  12th,  our  patrols  were  ranging  through 
all  the  vicinity,  and  seizing  obnoxious  tories.  On  the  night 
of  the  6th,  300  militia  had  entered  Chester  and  captured  the 
loyal  sheriff  of  Sussex  County,  for  whose  arrest  the  Delaware 
government  had  offered  $300  reward ;  and  at  4  A.  M.,  on  the 
loth,  a  party  cut  the  rope  of  the  Middle  Ferry  and  exchanged 
platoon  fires  with  the  light  dragoons.  On  the  evening  of  the 
16th,  the  troops  left  at  Wilmington,  who  it  was  supposed 
would  have  attacked  Red  Bank,  where  our  flag  was  hoisted 
that  very  morning,  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  leaving  their  sick 
and  wounded  at  Gray's  Ferry.  A  number  of  Hessians  fol 
lowed  on  the  20th. 

Howe  had  written  to  Clinton  that  he  was  not  strong 
enough  to  open  the  Delaware,  and  ordered  reinforcements  to 
be  sent  to  him.  On  the  21st  October,  Donop  with  2500 
Hessians  marched  against  Red  Bank,  crossing  the  Dela 
ware  in  flat-bottomed  boats  sent  up  by  night  from  the  fleet, 
and  passing  from  Cooper's  Ferry  to  Haddonfield,  where  a 
quantity  of  stores  were  captured.  This  post  and  that  on  Mud 
Island,  each  about  five  miles  below  Philadelphia,  together 
with  the  chevaux-de-frise  they  protected,  controlled  the  navi 
gation  of  the  Delaware.  Till  it  was  free  Howe's  position 
was  a  simple  cul-de-sac:  parted  from  his  supplies,  and 
scarcity  already  exhibited,  he  rested  within  a  triangle  of 
which  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill  were  the  sides  and  his 
works  the  base.  If  the  attack  meditated  in  the  American 
camp  was  thus  made  dangerous,  so  also  was  his  own  removal : 
for  our  army  in  at  least  equal  numbers  lay  before  him,  and 
so  long  as  the  fleet  could  be  shut  out  there  was  a  prospect 
of  reducing  him  by  starvation,  or  by  a  ruinous  and  imperfect 
retreat  across  Jersey.  The  importance  of  clearing  the  way 
was  therefore  well  understood  by  "  the  great  count,"  as  he 


128  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

was  called  in  Philadelphia,  when,  for  the  especial  distinction 
of  himself  and  his  men,  Donop  applied  out  of  turn  for  this 
command.  For  the  Americans  he  had  indeed  a  most  sov 
ereign  contempt ;  but  it  is  possible  that  other  circumstances 
may  have  governed  his  conduct.  There  were  feuds  in  the 
army  ;  and  his  countrymen  had  been  freely  spoken  of.  The 
Americans  with  great  reason  regarded  them  with  utter  ab 
horrence.  The  English  Opposition,  unmindful  of  the  treaty 
stipulations  that  sent  them,  perhaps  against  their  inclinations, 
to  this  country,  lavished  continual  contumely  on  their  heads. 
To  the  sea-stock  of  old  hock  wine  their  chief  had  laid  in  ere 
sailing,  ministers  were  invoked  to  add  the  irresistible  tempta 
tion  of  plenty  of  sour-krout  for  "  the  dear-bought  cut-throats  "  ; 
and  in  the  coach  that  De  Heister  insisted  on  carrying  with 
him  over  the  ocean,  it  was  almost  wished  that  he  might  lie 
coffined  beneath  the  waves  like  Pharaoh  in  his  chariot. 
Their  services  were  ridiculed,  and  an  English  nobleman 
sang,  in  relation  to  officers  of  the  Brunswick  corps,  — 

"  We  shall  not  with  much  sorrow  read 
How  Sclatzen,  Knotzen,  Blatzclmn  bleed 
Unless  we  break  a  tooth." 

Howe  was  opposed  politically  to  ministers,  and  it  is  proba 
ble  these  and  other  diatribes  reached  head-quarters ;  and 
though  Andre,  by  long  residence  in  Germany,  was  prepared 
to  live  in  friendly  relations  with  Donop,  all  of  the  army  were 
not.  De  Heister  had  already  gone  home  in  a  rage ;  and  it  is 
not  likely  his  subordinates  were  less  sensitive.  A  sufficient 
rampart,  too  high  and  steep  to  be  carried  without  ladders 
and  surrounded  by  an  abatis  and  ditch,  constituted  the  fort  ; 
it  was  defended  by  300  valiant  men.  On  the  morning  of  the 
22nd  October,  Donop  halted  just  beyond  its  cannon-shot,  and 
a  drum  followed  by  an  officer  brought  a  summons  to  surren 
der.  "  The  King  of  England,"  were  the  words,  "  orders 
his  rebellious  subjects  to  lay  down  their  arms  ;  and  they 
are  warned  that  if  they  stand  the  battle  they  shall  receive 
no  quarter."  The  garrison  replied  that  they  were  content 


THE  ASSAULT  ON  RED  BANK.  129 

neither  to  give  quarter  nor  to  take  it.  At  4  p.  M.,  the  ene 
my's  guns  opened  on  the  place,  and  the  Hessians  rushed  to 
the  storm.  The  first  outwork  was  carried  ;  and,  with  shouts 
of  triumph  and  waving  of  hats,  —  as  thinking  the  day  their 
own,  —  they  advanced  against  the  abatis.  But  Donop  seems 
to  have  now  entertained  no  such  thought  of  victory.  Though 
he  saw  success  was  almost  impossible,  he  resolved  to  proceed ; 
and  giving  his  watch  and  purse  to  a  bastard  son  of  Lord 
Bute's,  who  was  with  his  party,  he  plunged  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight.  It  was  said  at  the  time  in  Philadelphia  that  he 
considered  his  orders  to  be  peremptory,  and  indeed  they  were 
so  esteemed  there  ;  but  Howe  in  his  despatch  of  the  25th 
simply  observes  that  they  were  "  to  proceed  to  the  attack  "  ; 
while  in  his  Narrative  he  affirms  them  to  have  been  discretion 
ary,  according  to  the  chances  of  succeeding.  It  is  probable 
that  Donop's  haughty  spirit  could  not  brook  the  shame,  after 
all  that  had  passed,  of  returning  alive  and  unsuccessful.  But 
the  rampart  was  unattainable  without  ladders  or  pioneers. 
A  front  and  a  flank  fire  mowed  down  the  assailants.  The 
drummer  that  had  approached  the  fort  in  the  morning  beat 
the  charge  at  their  head :  he  was  a  marked  man,  and  fell 
on  the  first  fire  ;  and  with  him  the  officer  who  brought  the 
summons.  The  leaders  smote  vainly  with  their  swords  on 
the  abatis,  and  the  men  strove  to  tear  it  down  ;  they  fell  by 
scores  in  the  attempt.  Donop  himself,  distinguished  by  his 
courage  and  by  his  handsome  person,  on  which  was  displayed 
the  order  he  bore,  was  struck  in  the  hip,  swooned,  and  was 
left  for  dead.  A  few  of  his  men  sheltered  themselves  be 
neath  the  parapet;  the  rest  fled.  When  all  was  over,  a 
feeble  voice  was  heard  among  the  heaps  of  slain,  saying, 
"  Whoever  you  are,  draw  me  hence."  He  was  extricated, 
and  our  men  demanded  of  him  if  he  was  still  determined  to 
give  no  quarter.  "  I  am  in  your  hands,"  he  replied  ;  "  you 
may  revenge  yourselves."  Ascertaining  that  it  was  Mauduit, 
a  French  officer,  who  had  taken  him  up  —  "  Je  suis  content," 
he  cried  ;  "  je  incurs  entre  les  mains  de  1'honneur  rneme." 


130  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR&. 

Every  care  was  given  him,  for  Washington  was  anxious  that 
he  should  be  saved ;  but  he  died  in  three  days.  He  was  in 
timate  with  St.  Germain,  the  French  minister  of  war ;  and 
his  last  hours  were  bestowed  on  a  letter  recommending  Mau- 
duit  to  his  favor.  "  It  is  finishing  a  noble  career  early,"  he 
calmly  said  when  the  end  approached ;  "  but  I  die  the  vic 
tim  of  my  ambition  and  of  my  sovereign's  avarice."  In  Eng 
land,  Townshend  satirically  suggested  that  proper  care  and 
twenty  pounds  sterling  would  have  provided  ladders,  and 
saved  to  the  Treasury  the  cost  of  600  slain  Hessians  at 
forty  pounds  a  man. 

"  Sir  William's  Conquests  raise  a  smile. 
Lo,  Red-Bank  yields,  and  eke  Mud  Isle, 

Which  Hessians  storm' d  —  pell-mell! 
The  ditch  was  wet  —  they  had  no  bladders, 
The  wall  was  high  —  they  had  no  ladders, 

So  Donop  fought  and  fell !  " 

But  it  was  not  until  a  month  later  that  the  works,  so  skil 
fully  planned  by  the  unfortunate  Coudray,  were  beaten  down 
by  the  royal  batteries  to  an  extent  which  compelled  their  evac 
uation,  and  left  Lord  Howe  master  of  the  stream.  Mean 
time  small  parties  of  our  people  kept  up  a  constant  disturb 
ance  along  the  lines,  approaching  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
Kensington  outposts.  A  royal  detachment,  crossing  the 
Schuylkill  on  the  22nd,  broke  up  the  floating  bridge  at 
Gray's,  and  brought  it  up  to  the  Middle  Ferry.  On  the 
26th  the  picket  on  the  farther  side  was  attacked  for  fifteen 
minutes  by  our  people  till  a  regiment  had  crossed  the  bridge 
for  its  relief;  but  soon  after  the  floods  came  out  and  carried 
the  structure  away.  These  little  affairs  kept  the  enemy 
perpetually  in  motion.  They  were  busied  also  with  building 
two  floating  batteries  on  the  Schuylkill,  which,  though  when 
launched  were  too  leaky  for  use,  were  presently  put  in  bet 
ter  trim  and  sent  down  against  Red  Bank.  Three  or  four 
brigs  and  sloops  with  provisions  seem  to  have  slipped  up 
from  the  fleet  on  the  llth  November;  but  over  300  sail 


FALL    OF   RED   BANK.  131 

still  lingered  below,  by  whose  absence  12,000  men  had  al 
ready  been  detained  in  idleness  for  seven  precious  weeks. 
Excessive  rains  and  the  cutting  of  the  dykes  retarded  the 
English  works.  In  relieving  guard,  their  men  marched  some 
times  breast-deep  in  water.  The  American  works  were  how 
ever  now  ceasing  to  be  tenable ;  that  on  Mud  Island  was  aban 
doned  on  the  16th;  and  on  the  18th,  Cornwallis,  with  Grey 
and  2500  men,  crossed  the  Schuylkill  at  the  Middle  Ferry  to 
attack  Red  Bank.  On  the  way  to  Chester  Andre  saw  a  few 
more  of  the  horrors  of  war.  At  the  Blue  Bell  Tavern  the 
American  picket  retreated  within  doors  and  from  the  win 
dows  shot  down  a  couple  of  grenadiers.  Their  comrades 
burst  in  and,  ere  their  officers  could  prevent,  bayoneted  five 
of  our  men.  The  rest  were  taken.  Plunder  prevailed  on 
the  road,  and  the  houses  of  whigs  were  consumed.  By  11 
A.  M.  the  British  were  crossing  the  Delaware  at  Chester,  and, 
with  the  troops  just  come  from  New  York,  were  so  rapidly 
pushed  against  Red  Bank,  that  it  was  impossible  to  relieve 
it.  The  place  was  evacuated  on  the  20th.  Of  the  vessels  that 
had  been  sheltered  by  its  guns  some  were  fired  and,  at  four 
A.  M.  on  the  21st,  came  drifting  up  the  river  on  the  flood-tide 
to  within  two  miles  of  the  city ;  but  carried  back  by  the  ebb, 
exploded  harmlessly  after  flaming  for  five  hours.  In  the 
thick  fog  that  prevailed,  the  gondolas  passed  by,  despite  the 
heavy  firing  of  the  English  frigate  Delaware.  It  was  thus 
known  that  Red  Bank  had  fallen ;  and  as  the  design  of  a  for 
ward  movement  hinged  on  that  event,  the  loyal  believed  that 
Cornwallis  was  now  to  pass  up  to  Burlington  and  thence  get 
into  Washington's  rear.  On  the  morning  of  November  24th 
the  fleet  began  to  come  in  and  business  to  revive.  Corn 
wallis  brought  400  cattle  from  Jersey  on  the  ensuing  day ; 
and  on  the  next,  while  sixty -three  sail  were  in  sight  between 
the  town  and  Gloucester  Point,  Lord  Howe  carne  on  •  shore 
and  the  citizens  made  up  their  minds  that  Sir  William  would 
not  pursue  Washington  that  winter.  They  learned  their 
mistake,  however,  on  the  following  day;  for  so  ill  were 


132  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRlL 

Howe's  secrets  kept  that  it  was  the  town-talk  that  the  main 
army  would  march  on  the  2nd  December.  Detachments 
were  sent  over  Schuylkill ;  suspected  spies  were  seized  ;  and 
various  country-houses,  some  the  property  of  tories,  were 
fired  because  the  American  pickets  had  found  them  a  con 
venient  ambush  whence  to  shoot  down  the  enemy.  Most  of 
the  buildings  along  the  lines  were  by  this  time  destroyed  ; 
and  it  was  even  expected  that  Germantown  would  soon  be 
burned. 

Leaving  a  few  regiments  to  guard  the  city,  the  British 
army  marched  forth  by  the  Germantown  road  at  eight  P.  M., 
December  4th,  the  van  led  by  Cornwallis  and  the  rest  by 
Knyphausen.  Howe's  object  was  to  find  a  weak  place  in 
the  fortified  camp  at  Whitemarsh,  or  to  tempt  our  army,  now 
strongly  reinforced,  into  a  battle  for  the  recovery  of  Phila 
delphia  ;  but  the  public  impression  was  that  he  had  gone  out 
to  fight  Washington  wherever  he  found  him.  The  camp  fires 
were  lighted  at  Chestnut  Hill,  which,  soon  after,  a  body  of 
Americans  under  Irvine  attempted  to  occupy.  They  were 
discomfited,  however,  by  Abercromby  with  the  light  brigade, 
and  the  general  made  prisoner.  Here  the  English  remained 
till  the  7th ;  when,  reluctant  to  essay  Washington's  right, 
they  moved  at  one  A.  M.  towards  his  left,  and  took  post  on 
Edgehill.  A  sharp  skirmish  was  created  by  Morgan,  whose 
rifles  disputed  the  ground  as  long  as  they  could,  while  to  the 
left  Grey  encountered  and  easily  put  to  flight  a  considerable 
party,  chiefly  of  militia.  Grey's  night-march  led  him  to  their 
outposts.  He  formed  with  the  Queen's  Rangers  on  his  left, 
the  light  infantry  of  the  guards  on  his  right,  and  his  brigade 
in  the  centre.  The  Hessians  and  Anspach  Chasseurs,  with 
the  field-pieces,  were  in  the  van.  The  Americans  were  out 
flanked  on  either  side,  and  outrun  by  the  guards,  who  turned 
their  flight  across  the  fire  of  the  centre  and  left.  This  affair 
appears  to  have  occurred  in  Cheltenham  township,  Mont 
gomery  county. 

On  the  8th,  Howe  abandoned  all  hope  of  finding  a  vulner- 


ANDR&  WITH  GREY  AND  HOWE.  133 

able  place  in  our  lines,  and  Washington  restraining  his  per 
sonal  desire  to  go  forth  and  give  them  the  meeting  they 
sought,  the  British  turned  their  faces  homewards.  At  four 
p.  M.,  Grey  and  Cornwallis,  whose  troops  were  the  last  to 
move,  retired.  At  that  precise  time  Simcoe  was  watching 
the  entrance  of  a  squad  of  our  dragoons  into  a  trap  he  had 
cunningly  baited,  when  Andre  galloped  up  with  peremptory 
orders  to  withdraw.  The  others  were  already  on  the  march  ; 
and  at  nine  P.  M.,  to  the  confusion  and  amazement  of  Phila 
delphia,  the  British  ingloriously  reentered  the  lines.*  As 
they  came  down  the  Old  York  Road,  they  burned,  for  some 
reason,  the  Rising  Sun  Buildings  ;  but,  except  700  cattle  and 
the  spoils  of  every  farm-house  that  lay  in  a  Hessian's  path, 
there  was  nothing  at  all  to  show  for  all  this  effort  and  parade. 
Ere  sailing  for  England,  Cornwallis  foraged  the  country 
beyond  Schuylkill  towards  Chester ;  routing  Potter  as  he 
went,  and  finding  a  success  very  grievous  to  all  who  had 
anything  to  lose,  and  who  fruitlessly  claimed  redress  from 
head-quarters.  Another  large  force  went  to  Darby  on  the 
22nd  ;  and  stripping  it  of  1000  tons  of  forage  returned  on  the 
28th  with  a  parcel  of  prisoners ;  of  whom  two  officers  and 
thirty  men  had  been  cunningly  beguiled  into  ambuscade  by 
a  couple  of  the  17th  dragoons.  At  seven  p.  M.  on  Christmas 
Eve,  the  city  was  enlivened  by  a  brisk  but  unsupported  can 
nonade  with  twelve-pounders  on  the  lines  between  3rd  and 
4th  streets  ;  and  this  was  its  last  taste  of  battle  in  the  year 
1777.  The  troops,  on  the  30th  and  31st  December,  went  into 
good  winter-quarters.  "With  the  exception  of  a  transport,  that 
was  swept  from  her  moorings  by  the  ice  to  be  stranded  and 

*  This  failure  is  attributed  to  the  conduct  of  Lydia  Darrach,  a  midwife 
of  Philadelphia.  The  royal  adjutant-general  was  billeted  in  the  same 
house ;  and  when  he  sent  for  some  chief  officers  to  give  them  their  instruc 
tions  and  the  general  plan  of  action,  he  particularly  ordered  that  all  else 
in  the  house  should  go  to  bed.  By  aid  of  a  friendly  keyhole  his  precau 
tions  were  frustrated ;  and  the  woman  herself,  without  being  suspected,  bore 
the  important  details  to  our  people,  who  were  consequently  enabled  to  an 
ticipate  every  move  of  the  enemy. 


134  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

plundered  on  the  Jersey  shore,  nothing  more  occurred  of 
sufficient  note  to  excite  attention. 

The  severities  of  the  winter  of  1777-8  were  keenly  felt 
by  the  poor  of  Philadelphia  ;  and  even  the  better  classes,  no 
longer  able  to  procure  fresh  provisions  by  means  of  the  river, 
which  was  obstructed  by  ice  on  the  30th  of  December,  found 
additional  aggravation  in  the  spirit  that  permitted  the  Amer 
icans  to  hold  their  position  at  Valley  Forge,  and  thence  to 
restrain  supplies  from  the  country  by  severities  which  at  this 
day  seem  hardly  just.  "  The  laws  of  war,"  said  Marshal 
Con  way,  "  sanction  the  infliction  of  death  on  those  who  fur 
nish  food  to  an  enemy  only  when  such  aids  are  needful  to 
existence;  not  where  they  are  rather  matters  of  luxury." 
The  army  commissariat  was  always  capable  of  being  replen 
ished  by  the  fleet,  and  there  was  no  longer  hope  or  attempt 
to  reduce  Howe  by  starvation  ;  but  the  inhabitants  were  on 
another  footing.  They  remembered,  in  their  hunger,  how  the 
officers  who  entered  on  the  26th  of  September,- with  all  their 
civility  to  the  people,  professed  the  most  bitter  determination 
to  pursue  our  army  to  the  last  extremity ;  but  their  amaze 
ment  is  also  recorded  at  the  self-confidence  of  the  English 
and  their  contempt  of  the  Americans,  whom  they  stigmatized 
as  "  a  cowardly  and  insignificant  set  of  people."  There  were 
not  wanting,  even  in  Congress,  men  who  had  heard  Cope's 
officers  at  Preston  hold  the  same  terms  of  the  Scots,  declar 
ing  they  would  never  remain  to  face  the  British  bayonet : 
yet  who  had  seen  these  very  boasters  fly  pusillanimously  be 
fore  the  Highlanders  without  striking  a  blow.  The  impulse 
that  at  first  led  to  the  formation  of  Loyal  Associations  and 
Provincial  Corps  had  not  been  fostered.  The  Quakers  even 
were  at  one  time  expected  by  their  antagonists  to  appear  in 
arms.  "  Thee  and  thou,  in  Philadelphia,"  wrote  an  Ameri 
can  officer  (Oct.  6th,  1777),  "  now  find  a  religion  will  not 
serve  that  doth  not  turn  weathercock-like.  They  begin  to 
say  to  each  other  — '  Will  thee  take  a  gun,  —  hope  thee  will 
appear  in  the  field ; '"  —  but  when  flour  was  at  three  guineas 


FIRST  BATTLE  AT   STILL  WATER,  135 

the  hundred,  and  other  things  in  proportion,  they  rather 
thought  of  obtaining  assistance  through  Dr.  Fothergill,  from 
their  friends  in  England,  to  be  repaid  at  the  end  of  the 
troubles,  than  of  fulfilling  the  predictions  of  their  enemies. 
Nor  was  a  British  army  longer  to  be  esteemed  invincible  by 
rebels.  Burgoyne's  was  a  case  in  point.  On  the  3rd  of 
October,  imperfect  rumors  of  the  first  battle  at  Stillwater 
flew  from  lip  to  lip.  Gates  was  beaten.  A  letter  was  in 
town,  with  a  postscript  in  Irish  which  told  how  a  partial  en 
gagement  on  the  18th  of  September  had  been  unfavorable 
to  Burgoyne;  but  that  returning  on  the  19th  to  bury  his 
dead,  a  general  action  ensued  in  which  he  was  entirely  suc 
cessful,  and  was  in  full  march  on  Albany.  A  man  who  had 
been  in  Albany  on  the  19th  was  at  once  arrested;  but  he  of 
course  knew  nothing  of  Sir  John's  advance.  His  fall  was 
known  to  Washington  on  the  18th  of  October ;  but  Howe's 
army  scouted  at  the  story,  while  the  citizens  believed  it.  The 
Frenchman  who  brought  in  Donop's  wounded  officers  was 
questioned  on  the  possibility  of  such  an  event.  "  I  know  the 
fact  is  so,"  he  answered,  "  you  must  explain  it  as  you  can." 
Foremost  in  capacity  among  the  local  loyalists  was  Galloway. 
Sir  William  employed  him  in  municipal  affairs,  but  in  other 
respects  gave  him  the  cold  shoulder.  Galloway  was  not  in 
sensible  of  the  supineness  of  the  campaign,  nor,  as  he  be 
lieved,  of  the  cause.  His  friends  shared  in  his  discontent, 
and  he  has  recorded  its  origin.  At  Philadelphia,  he  says, 
Howe  found  4482  fencible  inhabitants,  of  whom  about 
1,000  were  Quakers  and  perhaps  fifty  secret  foes.  An  elev 
enth  of  the  whole  population  had  fled.  A .  militia  of  3500 
men  should  have  been  forthwith  organized ;  that,  with  the 
shipping  and  1000  regulars,  could  have  held  the  lines  against 
anything  but  Washington's  main  army,  which  Howe  might 
thus  be  at  liberty  to  attack  at  Valley  Forge.  He  should 
have  invited  the  loyal  men  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware 
peninsula  to  rise,  and  supplied  them  with  arms  and  ammuni 
tion,  and  a  few  regulars.  In  three  days  he  would  have  had 


136  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR£. 

2000  tories  in  the  field,  who  would  soon  increase  to  6000  or 
8000.  A  covering  post  at  Wilmington  would  put  Washing 
ton  between  it  and  the  loyalists,  should  he  march  against 
them ;  while  the  army  at  Philadelphia  would  be  but  one 
day's  distance  by  water,  or  two  by  land.  He  cited  the  fact 
that  even  with  the  insufficient  means  that  were  taken  to  raise 
men,  over  1100  of  the  Philadelphians  joined  the  British  ;  but 
particularly  was  he  sensitive  of  the  refusal  to  permit  him  to 
raise  a  regiment.  A  warrant  for  a  single  troop  was  vouch 
safed  him;  in  two  months  it  was  full  and  efficient.  The 
General  put  aside  his  services  in  the  recruiting  line,  and 
gave  the  warrant  to  "  an  unpopular  country  tavern-keeper, 
for  whom  he  [Howe]  thought  his  servants  in  the  kitchen  the 
most  proper  company."  Fifty  gentlemen  from  Monmouth, 
New  Jersey,  brought  their  services  to  Sir  William,  "  but  the 
General  was  inaccessible ;  they  could  not,  after  several  days 
attendance,  procure  an  audience."  Such  are  the  charges 
Galloway  brought  forward ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  he  found 
ready  listeners. 

Sir  William  and  Lord  Howe  were  the  sons  of  the  second 
Viscount  Howe,  and  were  in  an  illegitimate  way  kinsmen 
to  the  King.  The  late  King  William  spoke  of  Lord  Howe 
as  "  indeed  a  sort  of  connexion  of  the  family."  When  that 
coarse,  vulgar,  vicious  little  profligate,  George  Louis,  the 
first  of  the  Hanoverian  line,  came  over  to  reign  in  England, 
he  brought  among  his  German  mistresses  a  Madame  Kiel- 
mansegge,  whose  mother  had  filled  a  questionable  position 
near  his  own  father.  Once  in  England,  she  was  of  course 
placed  on  the  pension  and  the  peerage  rolls;  and  in  1721, 
while  his  wife  languished  out  her  life  in  a  dungeon,  George 
created  her  Countess  of  Leinster  and  of  Darlington,  and 
Baroness  Brentford.  By  the  usual  means  of  her  office, 
though  her  appearance  was  far  from  pleasing,  she  accumu 
lated  wealth.  Walpole  paints  the  fright  into  which  his  child 
hood  was  thrown  by  an  interview  with  this  "  fat  woman  of 
Brentford."  "  The  tierce,  black  eyes,  large  and  rolling  be- 


CHARACTER  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE.  137 

neath  two  lofty  arched  eyebrows  ;  two  acres  of  cheeks  spread 
with  crimson,  an  ocean  of  neck,  that  overflowed  and  was  not 
distinguished  from  the  lower  parts  of  her  body,  and  no  part 
restrained  by  stays,  —  no  wonder  that  a  child  dreaded  such 
an  ogress."  The  child  that  she  bore  to  the  king  was,  in 
1719,  married  to  Lord  Howe  ;  and  though  she  was  never 
publicly  acknowledged  as  George's  daughter,  her  own  child 
was  always  treated  by  Princess  Amelia,  daughter  of  George 
II.,  as  of  the  blood-royal.  There  were  whispers  also  of  a 
relationship  of  the  same  nature  as  with  the  Howes,  between 
George  III.  and  Lord  North ;  their  resemblance  was  so 
great,  according  to  "Wraxall,  as  to  be  pointed  out  by  George's 
father  to  Lord  Guilford.  —  The  ill  feeling  between  North  and 
Howe,  so  natural  to  the  royal  line,  would  not  belie  this  tale. 

John  Adams  asserts  that  the  Howes  were  poor,  brave 
men,  who  had  wasted  their  estates  in  election  contests  and 
had  now  nothing  to  sell  but  their  votes  and  their  swords. 
Sir  William  represented  Nottingham  in  the  Commons ;  and 
the  expenses  of  carrying  that  town  in  1768  were  said  by 
Lord  Chesterfield  to  have  been  full  £30,000  to  the  winner, 
and  not  less  to  the  losing  candidate.  Letters  from  London 
in  1775  aver  that  both  Howre  and  Clinton  went  with  reluc 
tance  to  America ;  but  they  were  told  they  must  do  this  or 
starve.  In  Parliament  he  was  in  the  chair  of  Committee  of 
the  Whole  House,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1775,  when  the 
Commons  considered  American  affairs.  From  nine  P.  M.  to 
one  A.  M.  it  was  one  scene  of  confusion  and  altercation,  dur 
ing  which  a  member  called  on  him  to  publish  in  the  Colonies, 
that  whenever  evidence  in  their  favor  was  produced,  the 
prime  minister  "  was  either  fast  asleep,  and  did  not  hear  it ; 
or,  if  awake,  was  talking  so  loud  as  even  to  prevent  others 
from  hearing  it."  As  next  in  command  to  Gage,  he  led  the 
assault  at  Bunker  Hill,  where  his  "  disposition  was  exceeding 
soldier-like  ;  in  my  opinion,  it  was  perfect,"  said  Burgoyne. 
Others  however  discovered  in  this  action  his  habitual  neg 
lect  to  press  fortune  to  the  utmost,  when  Clinton  was  vainly 


138  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

urging  the  pursuit  of  the  Americans  crowded  on  a  narrow 
causeway.  It  would  seem  that  ministers  were  then  perplexed 
to  find  a  suitable  chief  commander.  With  little  show  of 
probability,  Prince  Ferdinand  was  spoken  of  on  either  side  ; 
but  this  nomination  would  never  have  suited  Germain  (who 
was  soon  to  represent  America  in  the  cabinet),  for  it  would 
have  brought  him  into  direct  contact  with  the  man  by  whose 
means  he  had  been  himself  cashiered  for  misconduct  at  Min- 
den.  The  veteran  Amherst  was  also  mentioned  ;  and  a  con 
temporary  historian  alleges  the  post  was  even  tendered  to  the 
aged  Oglethorpe,  who,  in  1745,  had  been  refused  any  com 
mand  whatsoever.  The  ancient  Jacobite  however  sturdily 
refused  the  appointment,  unless  he  were  permitted  to  comply 
with  American  demands ;  and  this  the  ministry  would  not 
think  of.  Accordingly,  Dartmouth  informed  Howe  on  the 
2nd  of  August,  1775,  of  his  prospective  position,  and  bade 
him  transmit  a  full  statement  of  everything  that  he  would 
need  to  insure  success.  Yet  the  nature  of  his  politics  at  this 
time  may,  perhaps,  be  fairly  deduced  from  an  address  of  his 
constituency  to  the  throne  that  was  in  his  absence  presented 
by  his  brother,  the  Viscount.  The  constitutionality  of  the 
steps  against  America  was  questioned,  their  expediency  de 
nied,  and  especially  was  regretted  the  presence,  in  such  a  ser 
vice,  of  their  representative  —  "a  descendant  of  that  noble 
family  which  in  every  walk  of  glory  has  equalled  the  Roman 
name."  Howe  himself  averred  that  he  accepted  the  com 
mand  by  desire  of  his  friends  in  opposition  ;  and  it  is  not 
to  be  denied  that,  if  his  conduct  in  this  country  was  detri 
mental  to  the  triumph  of  the  British  arms,  it  was  at  least 
often  stamped  with  sterling  traits.  At  Bunker  Hill,  where 
he  was  struck  by  a  spent  ball,  he  would  have  preserved  the 
wounded  Warren.  He  captured  Fort  Washington  in  a  man 
ner  to  indicate  that  he  prized  the  lives  of  his  men.  He 
might  have  made  a  more  dashing  attack,  but  not  a  surer  or 
safer.  To  his  prisoners  he  was  not  so  considerate ;  and  the 
treatment  that  he  suffered  them  to  receive  would  alone  pol- 


CHARACTER  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE.  139 

lute  his  fame.  Ethan  Allen,  not  backward  himself  to  inflict 
scourging  or  exile  where  a  disputed  land-title  was  concerned, 
lifts  up  his  voice  against  Sir  William's  commissary  of  pris 
oners,  a  native  of  Allen's  own  region ;  and  declared  that 
"  legions  of  infernal  devils,  with  all  their  tremendous  horrors, 
were  impatiently  ready  to  receive  Howe  and  him,  with  all 
their  detestable  accomplices,  into  the  most  exquisite  agonies 
of  the  hottest  regions  of  hell-fire."  As  for  his  provost-mar 
shal,  Major  Cunningham,  "  a  burly,  ill-natured  Irishman,  of 
sixty  years,"  humanity  shrinks  from  the  recital  of  his  cruel 
ties,  and  almost  regrets  that  it  cannot  find  reason  to  believe 
that  the  justice  of  the  nation  he  so  long  disgraced  did  not 
provide  him  a  halter.  Few  worse  men  have  dangled  from  a 
gibbet.  There  is  satisfaction  in  the  reflection  that,  when  the 
British  evacuated  New  York  in  1783,  the  insolence  of  office 
led  him  to  quarrel  with  the  man  who  had  a  little  prematurely 
hoisted  the  American  flag  ;  and  that  he  was  soundly  belabored 
with  a  broomstick  by  an  indignant  virago.  His  quarters  in 
Philadelphia  were  plundered  by  robbers  of  his  own  ranks ; 
foremost  among  whom  was  a  hag  named  Marshall,  well- 
known  on  the  battle-field  as  the  "  bag  and  hatchet  woman,"  — 
a  title  that  sufficiently  indicates  her  horrid  trade.  Cunning 
ham's  prison  was  in  Walnut  Street  below  6th,  and  the  neigh 
boring  Potter's  Field  (now  Washington  Square)  received  his 
victims.  It  was  at  the  time  told  of  this  human  beast,  that 
when  charity  supplied  a  vessel  of  broth  to  his  starving  cap 
tives,  he  would  divert  himself  by  kicking  it  over,  and  seeing 
the  prisoners  fall  sprawling  on  the  earth,  striving  to  lap  up 
the  food  with  their  tongues.  As  for  the  hulks  in  which  our 
people  were  shut  up  at  New  York,  we  need  not  go  behind 
the  confession  of  Sir  William  Napier  —  "The  annals  of  civ 
ilized  nations  furnish  nothing  more  inhuman  towards  the 
captives  of  war  than  the  prison-ships  of  England."  The  fact 
seems  to  be  that  Howe  prized  his  own  comfort  too  highly  to 
disturb  himself  much  about  his  duties.  Charles  Lee,  who  long 
had  him  in  the  highest  love  and  reverence,  describes  him  as 


140  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

being  "naturally  good-humored,  complaisant,  but  illiterate  and 
indolent  to  the  last  degree,  unless  as  an  executive  soldier,  in 
which  capacity  he  is  all  fire  and  activity,  brave  and  cool  as 
Julius  Caesar."  Yet  his  enemies  also  asserted  that  since  1776 
he  had  never  met  Washington  but  in  force  really  superior;  and 
nineteen  occasions  were  cited  in  which  he  might  have  over 
turned  the  Americans.  At  Long  Island  his  men  were  hardly 
restrained  for  three  days  from  attacking  our  lines,  lie  lin 
gered  in  camp,  when  he  should  have  passed  to  New  Rochelle 
and  hemmed  up  his  foe  in  New  York.  At  Brandywine,  by 
the  most  judicious  manosuvres,  he  enclosed  Washington  be 
tween  his  two  columns  and  impassable  waters.  He  indolently 
suffered  the  defeated  party  to  remain  undisturbed  all  night 
within  eight  miles  of  the  field,  and,  by  five  days'  inactivity, 
lost  all  the  fruits  of  victory.  At  Germantown,  it  was  Mus- 
grave  who  saved  the  day  ;  and  even  then  there  was  no  gen 
eral  pursuit.  Nothing  was  extenuated,  and  not  a  little  set 
down  in  malice.  The  people  were  discontented  with  his  pri 
vate  life.  He  appropriated  to  himself  Mrs.  Pemberton's  coach 
and  horses ;  he  was  fond  of  his  bottle  ;  he  kept  a  mistress  ;  — 
even  the  more  discreet  among  his  own  officers  were  abashed 
at  his  luxurious  habits,  and  his  inaccessibility  to  affairs  of 
importance.  Across  the  ocean,  Burns  caught  up  the  story 
of  his  slothful  ease. 

"  Poor  Tammy  Gage  within  a  cage 

Was  kept  at  Boston  ha',  man, 
Till  Willie  Howe  took  o'er  the  knowe 

For  Philadelphia,  man. 
Wi'  sword  and  gun  he  thought  a  sin 

Guid  Christian  blood  to  draw,  man : 
But  at  New-York,  wi'  knife  and  fork, 

Sir-loin  he  hacked  sma',  man." 

The  Admiral  and  himself,  bitterly  remarks  a  contemporary, 
had  alike  the  sullen  family  gloom  ;  but  while  Lord  Howe 
was  devoted  to  business,  his  brother  hated  and  avoided  it. 
"  Their  uniform  character  through  life  has  been,  and  is  to  this 
day,  haughty,  morose,  hard-hearted,  and  inflexible."  This 


CHARACTER  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE.  141 

aversion  to  public  affairs,  and  the  consequent  pecuniary  dis 
orders  that  ensued  in  their  management,  may  perhaps  give 
another  color  to  the  allegation  that  Sir  William  was  privately 
interested  in  various  transactions  by  which  riches  were  got 
at  the  expense  of  government.  He  was  said  to  be  a  secret 
partner  with  Coffin,  a  large  military  shopkeeper  who  attended 
the  army.  Certainly  the  expenditures  of  his  campaigns  were 
beyond  all  reasonable  bounds.  In  every  profitable  branch 
of  the  service,  wrote  Wedderburne  at  the  time,  the  pecula 
tion  was  as  enormous  as  indecent.  Both  the  troops  and  the 
treasury  were  robbed  :  "the  hospitals  are  pest-houses  and  the 
provisions  served  out  are  poison.  Those  that  are  to  be  bought 
are  sold  at  the  highest  prices  of  a  monopoly."  No  wonder 
the  most  loyal  Englishman  winced  at  this  wanton  and  fruit 
less  waste  of  taxation,  and  apostrophized  his  country,  in 
sulted  by  Americans,  — 

"  Who  force  thee  from  thy  native  right 
Because  thy  heroes  will  not  fight; 
—  Perfidious  men,  who  millions  gain 
By  each  protracted,  slow  campaign !  " 

The  French  officers  in  Washington's  camp  were  amazed  at 
Howe's  inactivity.  "  After  Brandywine,"  said  Du  Portail, 
"  he  might  have  exterminated  our  army  "  ;  and  his  sluggish 
ness  while  they  were  at  Valley  Forge  was  an  ineffable  blun 
der.  "  Had  he  moved  against  them  in  force,  they  could  not 
have  held  their  encampment,"  says  Marshall.  An  opinion 
was  (no  doubt  falsely)  at  this  time  attributed  to  La  Fayette, 
that  as  any  general  but  Howe  would  have  beaten  Washing 
ton,  so  any  other  than  Washington  would  have  beaten  Howe  ; 
and  ministers  trembled  lest  Gates  should  march  from  Sara 
toga  and,  joining  the  main  army,  subdue  Philadelphia  and 
its  garrison.  But  Sir  William  was  already  anxious  to  retire. 
There  was  ill  blood  between  Germain  and  himself;  and  not 
even  the  king  could  persuade  the  Colonial  Secretary  to  treat 
his  General  with  proper  confidence.  In  July,  1778,  he  re 
turned  to  London,  "  richer  in  money  than  laurels,"  says  Wai- 


142  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

pole.  "  The  only  bays  he  possessed,"  said  another,  "  were 
those  that  drew  his  coach."  His  reception  by  the  cabinet 
was  not  encouraging ;  and  he  endeavored  to  cast  the  blame 
of  his  want  of  success  at  its  door.  In  this  he  but  partially 
succeeded.  A  parliamentary  investigation  took  such  a  turn 
that  it  was  dropped  on  motion  of  his  friends.  He  was  not 
reemployed  in  the  war ;  and  the  nation,  and  even  his  own 
constituents  of  Nottingham,  seem  to  have  been  content  to 
have  done  with  him. 

"  General  Howe  is  a  gallant  commander  — 
There  are  others  as  gallant  as  he  " 

was  the  general  conclusion.  In  1799  he  succeeded  to  his 
brother's  Irish  titles  ;  and  died  childless  in  1814.  In  person 
he  was  tall  and  portly,  full  six  feet  in  height,  and,  to  Phil 
adelphia  eyes,  of  stately  and  dignified  manners.  His  enforced 
withdrawal  from  the  field  of  professional  service  was  in  some 
measure  compensated  by  the  social  and  political  influence 
which  secured  him  in  a  lucrative  and  honorable  office  under 
the  crown. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  British  Army  in  Philadelphia.  —  Features  of  the  Occupation.  —  Sir 
William  Erskine.  —  Abercrombie.  —  Siracoe.  —  Lord  Cathcart.  —  Tarle- 
ton.  —  Andre's  Social  Relations  in  the  City.  —  Verses  composed  by  him. 
—  Amateur  Theatricals. — Misconduct  of  the  Royal  Arms.  —  The  Mis- 
chianza.  —  Andrd's  Account  of  it. —Howe  removed  from  the  Com 
mand. 

THE  year  1778  found  the  British  at  Philadelphia  in  snug 
quarters,  unembarrassed  by  the  cares  of  the  field  and,  except 
for  occasional  detachments,  free  from  other  military  duties 
than  the  necessary  details  of  garrison  life.  The  trifling  affairs 
that  occurred  during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  served 
rather  as  a  zest  to  the  pleasures  which  engaged  them,  than 
as  a  serious  occupation.  Our  army  lay  the  while  —  from  the 
19th  December  to  the  18th  June  —  at  Valley  Forge,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Schuylkill.  The  camp  was  placed  on  the 
rugged  hill-side  of  a  deep  valley,  through  which  flows  a  creek. 
On  the  east  and  south  it  was  fortified  with  a  ditch  six  feet 
wide  and  three  feet  deep,  and  a  mound  four  feet  high  that 
might  easily  be  overthrown  (said  Anbury,  an  English  officer 
who  visited  the  spot,)  by  six-pounders.  On  the  left  was  the 
Schuylkill,  over  which  a  bridge  was  built  by  the  Americans 
to  keep  up  their  communications.  On  every  arch  was  carved 
a  general's  name  ;  that  in  the  centre  bore  Washington's,  and 
the  date  of  its  erection.  The  rear  was  protected  by  a  preci 
pice  and  thick  woods.  From  December  to  May,  continues 
our  authority,  Howe  could  have  readily  carried  these  lines  ; 
at  any  time  in  the  spring  he  could  have  besieged  them. 
The  sufferings  of  the  men  were  intolerable  ;  they  deserted 
by  tens  and  by  fifties ;  and  they  often  appeared  in  Philadel 
phia  almost  naked,  without  shoes,  a  tattered  blanket  strapped 


144  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

to  their  waists  —  but  with  their  arras.  These  they  were  al 
ways  allowed  by  the  English  to  sell.  It  is  incredible  that, 
however  bad  his  intelligence  from  the  country-people  might  be, 
Howe  could  not  have  found  guides  among  these  to  lead  him 
to  our  camp.  It  is  known  that  there  were  not  provisions 
in  store  to  enable  Washington  to  hold  out.  He  must  have 
abandoned  his  lines  or  starved;  and  he  had  not  sufficient 
means  to  remove  his  equipage.  Sickness  prevailed  ;  eleven 
hospitals  were  kept  up  at  one  time.  None  but  the  Virginia 
troops  were  provided  with  anything  like  enough  clothing  ; 
and,  to  crown  all,  Congress  was  busier  with  schemes  to  sup 
plant  and  remove  Washington,  than  to  listen  to  the  griev 
ances  of  his  followers  and  supply  their  just  demands.*  It 
was  for  us  a  fortunate  though  a  most  unwarlike  turn  that 
occupied  such  soldiers  as  Abercrombie,  Tarleton,  Musgrave, 
Simcoe,  and  De  Lancy  with  the  ordering  of  a  ball-room  or 
the  silken  trappings  of  the  stage,  rather  than  the  harsh  reali 
ties  of  the  field.  In  other  scenes  they  proved  themselves 
gallant  and  dangerous  antagonists. 

The  general  demeanor  of  the  officers  billeted  at  Phila 
delphia  in  private  houses  is  described  as  very  agreeable. 
Candles,  fire,  and  a  chamber  were  provided  by  the  house 
holder.  The  guest  would  return  of  an  evening,  take  his 
candle,  and  after  a  little  fireside-chat  retire  to  his  apartment. 
One  unfortunate  wight  indeed,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the 

*  General  Knox  and  Captain  Sargent,  both  of  the  artillery,  were  dele 
gated  by  their  comrades  to  represent  their  necessities.  The  committee  hav 
ing  heard  them,  one  of  its  members  took  occasion  to  remark  that  much  had 
been  very  well  said  about  the  famine  and  the  nakedness  of  the  soldiers; 
yet  he  had  not  for  a  long  time  seen  a  fatter  man  than  one  of  the  gentlemen 
who  had  spoken,  nor  one  better  dressed  than  the  other.  Knox,  Avho  was 
of  corpulent  habit,  was  mute  —  probably  Avith  indignation;  but  his  subor 
dinate  rejoined  that  this  circumstance  was  due  to  the  respect  his  com 
panions  bore  not  only  to  themselves,  but  to  Congress.  The  General's  rank 
prescribed  his  appointment;  but,  beyond  that,  the  corps  could  not  hesitate 
to  select  as  their  representatives  the  only  man  among  them  with  an  ounce 
of  superfluous  flesh  on  his  body,  and  the  only  other  who  possessed  a  com 
plete  suit  of  clothes. 


THE  BRITISH  ARMY  IN  PHILADELPHIA.  145 

neck  at  Germantown  and  who  was  saddled  on  one  of  the 
best  families  in  the  town,  used  to  keep  the  neighborhood  of 
2nd  Street  and  Taylor's  Alley  aware  of  his  existence  by  the 
frantic  volleys  of  oaths  that  he  would  pour  out  when,  as  he 
sat  by  the  open  window,  every  turn  of  his  head  to  watch 
what  went  on  below  would  throw  him  into  new  pains  ;  but 
such  cases  were  exceptional.  Several  of  them  too  had  mis 
tresses  ;  and  this,  though  offensive  to  morality,  was  neither 
disguised  nor  kept  in  the  dark.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Birch 
of  the  dragoons  —  a  man  of  high  fashion  at  the  time  —  was 
of  these  ;  and  Major  Crewe,  whose  jealousy  of  Tarleton  was 
one  of  the  esclandres  of  the  day.  "  I  saw,"  said  a  distinguished 
citizen,  "  a  grand  review  of  18,000  British  troops,  on  the 
commons  that  extended  from  Bush  Hill  to  Southwark.  They 
had  just  received  their  new  clothing,  and  made  a  fine  ap 
pearance.  A  very  lovely  English  girl,  the  mistress  of  Major 
Williams  of  the  artillery,  drove  slowly  down  the  line  in  her 
open  carriage  with  handsome  English  horses  and  servants. 
Her  dress  was  cut  and  trimmed  after  the  fashion  of  the  regi 
ment's  ;  the  facings  were  the  same,  and  the  plumes.  The 
woman  was  singularly  beautiful." 

No  sooner  were  they  settled  in  their  winter-quarters,  than 
the  English  set  on  foot  scenes  of  gayety  that  were  long  re 
membered,  and  often  with  regret,  by  the  younger  part  of 
the  local  gentry.  Weekly  balls,  each  conducted  by  three 
officers  of  repute,  were  given  in  the  public  rooms  at  Smith's 
City  Tavern,  in  2nd  Street.  Convivial  associations  were 
formed,  to  dine  at  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  or  the  Indian  Queen. 
Mains  of  cocks  were  fought  at  a  pit  that  was  opened  in 
Moore's  Alley.  As  spring  came  on,  cricket-matches  were 
discussed.  The  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  give 
many  curious  hints  of  the  levity  of  manners  and  morals  that 
was  fast  springing  up  in  the  lately  staid  and  demure  city. 
Thefts  were  not  infrequent ;  wet-nurses  were  in  constant  de 
mand  ;  comely  white  bondwomen  were  escaping  from  servi 
tude.  To-day  Lord  Rawdon's  spaniel  is  lost  near  Schuylkill, 

10 


146  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    AXDKE. 

and  is  to  be  brought  back  to  Mrs.  Sword's  in  Lodge  Alley  ; 
to-morrow  an  exhibition  of  glowing  pictures,  or  a  sale  of 
books  rather  more  free  than  had  usually  found  market  there  ; 
or  perchance  a  lecture  on  electricity  at  the  college.  The 
presence  of  so  many  young  officers,  not  a  few  of  them  dis 
tinguished  by  rank  or  by  fortune,  lent  new  life  to  every  oc 
casion  of  amusement.  The  Marquis  of  Lindsay,  who  in  this 
year  became  Duke  of  Ancaster,  was  the  nephew  of  Andre's 
old  colonel,  Lord  Robert  Bertie  ;  and  Stopford,  his  major  in 
Canada,  was  also  here,  a  ball-manager.  Lord  William  Mur 
ray,  Lieutenant-Colonel  (afterwards  Earl)  Harcourt,  Sir 
Henry  Calder,  Sir  Thomas  Wilson,  and  many  other  men  of 
rank  were  with  the  troops.  Here  too  was  Sir  William  Er- 
skine,  who  a  year  or  so  later  resigned  his  quartermaster- 
generalcy,  not  for  ill  health  it  is  said,  but  because  the  General 
gave  no  heed  to  his  recommendation  for  an  ensigncy.  Er- 
skine  remained  long  in  the  service,  and  many  stories  are  told 
of  him.  He  protected  the  English  rear  at  the  retreat  from 
Dunkirk,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  with  charming 
frankness  and  in  the  broadest  Scotch,  shouted  to  his  comrade 
in  this  war,  Dundas,  as  he  passed,  —  "  Davie,  ye  donnert  idiot, 
where's  a'  your  peevioys  (pivots)  the  day  ?  "  —  Sir  David 
being  one  of  those  tedious  tacticians  who  could  not  take  one 
step  forward  without  going  a  dozen  about.  Erskine  was  not 
an  able  officer,  as  Wellington  afterwards  found  out  in  the 
Peninsula.  There,  too,  was  the  Hessian  captain  Frederick 
Munchausen,  aide  to  Howe,  whose  name  was  so  ominously 
significant  of  incorrect  despatches  ;  and  Abercrombie,  ap 
parently  the  same  who  later  served  and  died  so  gallantly  in 
Egypt,  and  whose  mortification  when  the  British  arms  were 
finally  grounded  at  Yorktown  —  hiding  his  face  and  gnash 
ing  his  sword-hilt  as  he  turned  away  —  is  so  picturesquely 
related  by  one  of  Rochambeau's  staff.  Of  those,  however, 
who  seem  to  have  been  of  Andre's  more  immediate  circle 
were  Simcoe,  the  famous  partisan  officer ;  Captain  Battwell ; 
Sir  John  Wrottesley ;  Captain  De  Lancy,  afterwards  his 


LORD  CATHCART.  147 

successor  in  the  adjutant-general cy  ;  Major  Stanley  (father  of 
the  late  Earl  of  Derby)  ;  and  Major  Lord  Cathcart.  This 
last  was  of  an  ancient  Scotch  family  long  distinguished  in 
arms,  who  rose  to  command  in  chief  before  Copenhagen  in 
1807  ;  he  was  created  an  English  Viscount  and  Earl,  and 
died  so  lately  as  1843.* 

Another  young  officer  at  Philadelphia,  whose  part  in  the 

*  Cathcart  married  in  America  (April  10, 1779)  the  daughter  of  Andrew 
Eliot,  once  collector  at  Philadelphia  and  uncle  of  the  first  Lord  Minto, 
better  known  as  author  of  the  beautiful  pastoral  of  Amyntas  —  "  My  sheep 
I  neglected,  I  broke  my  sheep-hook,"  — than  by  his  title.  Mr.  A.  Eliot  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  procure  Andre's  release.  A  MS.  letter  of  the 
time  thus  pleasantly  describes  the  nuptials :  "  We  live,  it  is  true,  for  a  little 
while,  when  Beauty  strikes  the  strings  at  General  Pattison's  concerts:  but 
this  is  only  on  the  first  day  of  a  week  that  sickens  before  it  is  concluded. 
.  .  .  An' t  you  tired  of  moralizing?  I'll  tell  you  news:  Lord  Cathcart  — 

"  Poh,  I  heard  it  before !  " 

"  However,  you  just  heard  that  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliot,  but  the 
story  here  is  that  he  took  himself  in  merely  to  pass  the  time  away  in  winter- 
quarters  ;  and  because  Miss  E.  was  a  lively,  pretty  girl,  he  made  violent 
love  to  her,  wrote  letters,  &c.  £c.  Miss  E.  listened  and  believed — Tor 
who  could  think  such  tender  looks  were  meant  but  to  deceive  ?  '  Whether 
his  Lordship  flew  off  afterwards,  I  know  not :  but  Mr.  E.  laid  the  letters 
and  the  whole  affair  before  Sir  Henry.  Sir  H.  advised  Cathcart  to  marry : 
Cathcart  wished  to  be  excused  till  the  end  of  the  war:  and  the  Gen 
eral  informed  him  that  after  having  gone  so  far,  he  must  marry  Miss 
E.,  or  quit  his  family.  A  fine  girl,  a  good  fortune,  to  a  Scotch  Lord  with  a 
moderate  one,  were  not  to  be  despised.  You  know  the  Peers  of  Scotland, 
having  no  legislative  privileges,  are  not  of  that  consequence  that  the  Lords 
of  England  or  even  those  of  Ireland  are.  And  so  his  Lordship  married 
Miss  Eliot,  and  they  will  soon  sail  for  England,  it  is  said." — Lady  Cathcart 
appears  to  have  had  a  place  at  court,  and  Peter  Pindar  celebrates  her  at 
Weymouth,  in  connection  with  the  king's  insensate  manners:  — 

"  Caesar  spies  Lady  Cathcart  with  a  book  ; 
He  flies  to  know  what  'tis  —  he  longs  to  look. 
'  What's  in  your  hand,  my  lady?  let  me  know.' — 
'  A  book,  an't  please  your  majesty.'  — 'Oho ! 
Book's  a  good  thing — good  thing  —  I  like  a  book. 
Very  good  thing,  my  lady  —  let  me  look  — 
War  of  America  !   my  lady,  hae  ? 
Bad  thing,  my  lady  !  fling,  fling  that  away.'  " 

A  sister  of  Cathcart's  married  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  afterwards  Lord  Lyne- 
doch,  a  distinguished  cavalry  officer ;  another  was  Duchess  of  Athol,  and 
a  third  Countess  of  Mansfield. 


148  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

war  was  not  unnoted,  was  Banastre  Tarleton.  Born  at  Liv 
erpool,  the  son  of  an  eminent  merchant,  he  forsook,  like  An 
dre,  the  compting-room  for  the  army,  and  when  the  contest 
began  obtained  a  cornetcy  of  dragoons.  Sir  W.  Erskine 
was  his  first  patron ;  afterwards  Clinton  and  Cornwallis 
prized  and  promoted  him.  Well  but  heavily  made,  with 
large  muscular  legs,  a  good  soldier's  face,  dark  complexion, 
small,  piercing,  black  eyes,  about  five  feet  eight  inches  in 
height,  and  a  capital  horseman,  he  was  the  very  model  of  a 
partisan  leader.  At  this  time  he  was  but  about  twenty-one, 
and  though  Howe  did  not  employ  cavalry  much,  was  always 
vigorous  and  active ;  "  when  not  riding  races  with  Major 
Gwynne  on  the  commons,  making  love  to  the  ladies."  In 
England  he  had  been  guilty  of  some  excesses ;  and  a  whim 
sical  speech  from  the  box  of  a  theatre  about  one  of  his  own 
kindred  was  quoted  as  an  evidence  of  his  "  flow  of  spirits 
and  unrestrained  tongue."  At  the  Mischianza  his  equipage 
bespoke  the  man.  His  device  was  a  light  dragoon  ;  his 
motto,  Sivift,  vigilant,  and  bold,  —  and  his  squire's  name  was 
Heart.  On  his  return  he  was  elected  to  Parliament  by  his 
native  place,  and  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  among 
the  whig  circles ;  now  jesting  at  Fox's  swollen  legs,  now 
taking  the  odds  from  Sheridan  that  Pitt  will  not  be  First 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  on  the  18th  of  May,  1795.  Despite 
his  distinguished  services  he  was  coldly  received  by  George 
III.,  who  less  regarded  how  his  soldiers  fought  than  how  they 
voted.*  An  ill-advised  boast,  in  the  presence  of  a  lady  of 
influence,  that  he  had  not  only  slain  more  men  in  America, 
but  had  more  nearly  approached  the  feats  of  Proculus  in 
Gaul  than  any  other  soldier  in  the  royal  army,  so  incensed 
his  hearer  that  she  determined  he  should  lose  his  seat  at  the 
next  election,  —  and  she  carried  her  point.  Tarleton's  repu- 

*  Tarleton,  it  is  said,  has  been  honored  with  a  private  conference,  in 
which  his  Majesty  took  no  other  notice  of  his  services  than  just  to  say  — 
"  Well,  Colonel  Tarleton,  you  have  been  in  a  great  many  actions,  had  a 
great  many  escapes."  —  MS.  London,  Feb.  6,  1782. 


TARLETOX.  149 

tation  for  cool  but  reckless  daring  attended  him  in  England. 
When  a  mob  threatened  Devonshire  House,  he  quietly  threw 
up  a  window  and  said,  —  "  My  good  fellows,  if  you  grow  riot 
ous,  I  shall  really  be  obliged  to  talk  to  you."  They  immedi 
ately  dispersed.  In  1798  he  married  a  daughter  of  the  Duke 
of  Ancaster,  and  in  1817  was  a  major-general,  but  not  on  ac 
tive  service.  He  always  maintained,  till  the  event  falsified 
his  judgment,  that  Wellington  would  fail  in  Portugal.  On 
the  coronation  of  George  IV.  he  was  made  a  Baronet  and 
K.  B.  His  fortunes  do  not  seem  to  have  been  continually 
prosperous  ;  —  on  the  5th  of  September,  1798,  he  writes  from 
Sus*ex :  "  I  have  thought  proper  to  proceed  to  Lord  R. 
Spencer's  friendly  mansion,  for  two  purposes :  to  read,  and  to 
subsist  for  nothing  —  being  very,  very  poor."  The  portrait 
by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  represents  him  in  a  martial  attitude 
on  the  battle-field.  His  own  figure  is  finely  drawn ;  but  the 
horses  are  outrageously  in  defiance  of  nature,  and  fully  war 
ranted  the  contemporaneous  criticism  that  was  bestowed  upon 
the  production :  — 

"  Lo !  Tarleton  dragging  on  his  boot  so  tight ! 
His  horses  feel  a  godlike  rage, 
And  long  with  Yankees  to  engage  — 
I  think  I  hear  them  snorting  for  the  fight. 

"  Behold  with  fire  each  eyeball  glowing ! 

I  wish,  indeed,  their  manes  so  flowing 
Were  more  like  hair  —  the  brutes  had  been  as  good 

If,  flaming  with  such  classic  force, 

They  had  resembled  less  that  horse 
Call'd  Trojan  —  and  by  Greeks  compos'd  of  wood." 

Tarleton's  ravages  in  America  have  made  his  name  a  house 
hold  word  in  many  regions ;  but  an  exception  may  be  cited 
to  his  general  reputation  in  Jefferson's  testimony  to  the  care 
he  gave  to  the  house  of  Monticello  when  it  was  in  his  power. 
It  was  natural  that  the  presence  of  such  a  gay  and  brilliant 
throng  should  create  an  impression  on  Philadelphia  society 
that  long  remained  uneffaced,  and  which  in  after-years  in 
duced  many,  particularly  of  the  softer  sex,  to  look  back  with 


150  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

real  regret  to  the  pleasant  days,  the  festive  nights  that  pre 
vailed  during  the  British  occupation.  One  of  these  in  re 
cording  her  own  sentiments  probably  uttered  the  thoughts  of 
many  more  : 

"  Oh  halcyon  days,  forever  dear, 
When  all  was  frolic,  all  was  gay : 
When  Winter  did  like  Spring  appear, 
And  January  fair  as  May ! 
When  laughing  Sol  went  gaily  down, 
Still  brighter  in  the  morn  to  rise : 
And  gently  glancing  on  the  town 
O'er  British  ensigns  moved  his  eyes. 
When  all  confessed  the  gallant  youth 
Had  learned  in  camps  the  art  to  please ; 
Respectful,  witty,  friends  to  truth, 
Uniting  valour,  grace,  and  ease  !  " 

But  of  all  the  band,  no  one  seems  to  have  created  such  a 
pleasing  impression  or  to  have  been  so  long  admiringly  re 
membered  as  Andre.  His  name  in  our  own  days  lingered 
on  the  lips  of  every  aged  woman  whose  youth  had  seen  her 
a  belle  in  the  royal  lines ;  and  though  the  reminiscences  of  a 
bygone  generation  are  not  implicitly  to  be  relied  on,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  in  this  instance  they  are  in  the  main 
correct.  He  is  described  as  of  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height, 
and  of  a  singularly  handsome  person,  —  well-made,  slender, 
graceful,  and  very  active ;  a  dark  complexion,  with  a  serious 
and  somewhat  tender  expression ;  his  manners  easy  and  in 
sinuating.  He  was  an  assured  favorite  with  some  of  the 
best  people  in  the  city,  and  despite  their  indignation  at  Grey's 
behavior  at  the  Paoli.  This  Andre  warmly  upheld,  as  in 
entire  conformity  with  the  usages  of  war  ;  and  they  who  dis 
agreed  with  these  assertions  still  cherished  the  aide-de-camp, 
who  vindicated  the  deeds  he  had  shared  in,  as  "  a  most  charm 
ing  man."  If  the  serious  business  of  life  was  a  part  of  his 
lot,  there  was  yet  ample  scope  for  the  exercise  of  those 
elegant  arts  in  which  he  excelled.  His  infirmities,  if  any 
there  were,  sprang,  like  Charles  Townshend's,  from  a  noble 
cause  —  that  lust  of  fame  which  is  "  the  instinct  of  all  great 


ANDRE'S  SOCIAL  RELATIONS  IN  PHILADELPHIA.    151 

souls  " ;  and  his  comely  person,  his  winning  speech,  his  grace 
ful  manners,  procured  him  universal  acceptance. 

"  ~\Vhate'er  he  did  't  was  done  with  so  much  ease, 
In  him  alone  't  was  natural  to  please : 
His  motions  all  accompanied  with  grace ; 
And  paradise  was  opened  in  his  face." 

Warm  friendships  sprung  up  between  many  of  the  officers 
and  the  towns-people  ;  and  among  those  in  which  Andre 
was  concerned,  was  that  with  the  family  of  Edward  Shippen, 
which  was  destined  to  bear  such  an  important  part  in  his 
career.  In  rank,  character,  and  fortune  Mr.  Shippen  was 
among  the  first  men  of  his  time.  That  he  was,  to  say  the 
least,  lukewarm  in  the  war  has  often  been  charged.  Cer 
tainly  he  was  constantly  fined  for  neglect  of  militia  duty,  in 
seasons  when  every  zealous  whig  might  have  been  looked  for 
in  arms ;  but  after  all  was  over,  he  was  worthily  dignified  by 
the  highest  professional  offices  in  the  state,  and  at  the  hands 
of  men  who  had  been  the  most  conspicuous  supporters  of 
the  Revolution.*  With  Miss  Redman,  Andre  was  also  in 
timate  ;  the  buttons  playfully  severed  from  their  coats  by 
Stanley  and  himself,  and  presented  to  her  as  parting-keep 
sakes  when  they  left  Philadelphia,  are  yet  preserved,  as  also 
are  a  number  of  silhouettes  of  himself  and  various  of  his 
friends,  cut  by  him  for  this  lady.  For  her,  too,  he  wrote, 
on  the  2nd  January,  1778,  these  pretty  vers  de  societe,  to  a 
German  air  that  he  had  perhaps  composed  or  picked  up  in 
his  wanderings :  — 

Return,  enraptur'd  hours, 
When  Delia's  heart  was  mine; 
When  she  with  wreaths  of  flowers 
My  temples  would  entwine. 

When  jealousy  nor  care 
Corroded  in  my  breast  — 

*  Fines  of  £6  and  of  £13  are  affixed  to  his  name  on  various  occasions  in 
the  returns  of  Capt.  Paschal's  company,  2nd  battalion.  See  Accts.  Lieuts. 
and  Sub-Lieuts.  Philadelphia  City:  1777-1783. 


152  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDKE. 

But  visions  light  as  air 
Presided  o'er  my  rest. 

Now,  nightly  round  my  bed 
No  airy  visions  play ; 
No  flow'rets  crown  my  head 
Each  vernal  holiday. 

For  far  from  these  sad  plains 
My  lovely  Delia  flies; 
And  rack'd  with  jealous  pains 
Her  wretched  lover  dies. 

Some  may  find  allusion  in  these  lines  to  the  writer's  affair 
with  Miss  Sneyd.  There  is  no  evidence  that  his  heart  was 
bound  by  new  ties  while  in  this  country ;  and  his  freedom 
from  the  grosser  passions  of  his  fellows  was  especially  ob 
served.  It  was  likewise  noticed,  as  an  instance  of  his  cour 
tesy,  that  neither  while  a  prisoner  at  Lancaster,  or  in  power 
as  Grey's  aide,  did  he  ever  join  in  the  contemptuous  language 
so  often  applied  to  the  Americans.  He  did  not  speak  even 
of  those  in  arms  as  rebels  ;  colonists  was  the  gentler  phrase 
by  which  he  referred  to  them. 

During  all  the  war,  the  favorite  amusement  of  the  British 
army  was  amateur  theatricals.  Wherever  it  found  itself  in 
quarters,  at  once  a  dramatic  corps  sprung  up.  In  1775-6, 
when  beleaguered  in  Boston,  Burgoyne  and  his  fellows  fitted 
up  a  playhouse  (in  an  abandoned  meeting-house,  it  is  said)  ; 
the  roof  of  which,  according  to  an  English  writer,  was  de 
stroyed  by  American  shells,  and  the  wardrobe  and  curtain 
much  injured.  Here  the  officers  gave  Tamerlane,  The  Busy 
body,  and  the  like.  It  opened  with  Zara,  to  which  Sir  John 
wrote  an  apposite  prologue  ;  and  the  bills  were  sent  to  Wash 
ington  and  to  Hancock.  It  might  well  have  closed  with  an 
other  of  Burgoyne's  bantlings  —  The  Blockade  of  Boston  ;  the 
performance  of  which  was  disagreeably  interrupted  by  prac 
tical  skirmishings  on  the  outposts.  In  1779—80  the  captives 
of  Saratoga,  detained  at  Charlottesville,  erected  a  theatre  for 
themselves.  At  Philadelphia,  the  royal  officers  were  more 


AMATEUR  THEATRICALS.  153 

fortunate  in  finding  one  standing  to  their  hand.  On  the  south 
side  of  South  Street  (to  be  out  of  the  bounds  of  the  city,  the 
regulations  of  which  were  opposed  to  the  stage),  near  4th,  was 
a  large,  ugly,  ill-conditioned  wooden  building,  the  third  pub 
lic  playhouse  that  had  been  opened  in  or  about  Philadelphia. 
It  was  built  in  1760,  and  was  long  disused.  The  scenes  of 
war  outshone  the  mimic  pageantries  of  the  sock  and  buskin ; 
and  one  at  least  of  the  old  company,  Francis  Mentges,  a 
dancer,  was  now  an  officer  of  some  repute  in  our  army.  The 
house  was  not  a  good  one.  The  great  square  wooden  col 
umns,  that  supported  the  upper  tier  and  the  roof,  interrupted 
the  view  from  the  boxes ;  the  stage  was  lighted  by  plain 
lamps  without  glasses  ;  everything  betokened  ill-taste  and 
dilapidation.  But  any  theatre  was  better  than  none;  and 
it  was  without  hesitation  decided  to  make  the  most  of  this 
shabby  barn.  The  stage-box  on  the  east  side  was  probably 
that  occupied  by  Howe ;  it  was  afterwards  appropriated  to 
Washington,  who  himself  was  partial  to  the  drama,  and  dur 
ing  his  Presidency  made  a  point  of  attending  the  representa 
tions  of  The  Poor  Soldier.  Above  the  entrance  was  the 
Rabelaisian  motto  —  Totus  mundus  agit  histrionem  ;  which 
the  tyros  translated,  "  We  act  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and 
Fridays."  The  military  amateurs  were  slow  to  verify  this 
rendering  in  the  frequency  of  their  performances.  Having 
resolved  on  their  plan,  Andre  and  Oliver  De  Lancy  —  "a 
lusty,  fat,  ruddy-looking  young  fellow  between  20  and  30 
years  of  age,"  went  to  work  to  prepare  the  needful  scenery 
and  decorations.  Andre's  readiness  with  the  brush  has  al 
ready  been  declared.  On  this  occasion  he  produced  effects 
that  might  have  stood  beside  the  scenic  labors  of  Hogarth, 
De  Loutherbourg,  or  Stansfield  himself.  His  foliage  was 
uncommonly  spirited  and  graceful.  The  two  amateurs  made 
several  very  useful  and  attractive  additions  to  the  old  stock 
scenery ;  one  of  which,  from  Andre's  brush,  demands,  says 
Durang,  a  particular  record. 

"  It  was  a  landscape  presenting  a  distant  champagne  coun- 


154  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

try,  and  a  winding  rivulet  extending  from  the  front  of  the 
picture  to  the  extreme  distance.  In  the  foreground  and  cen 
tre  a  gentle  cascade  (the  water  exquisitely  executed)  was 
overshadowed  by  a  group  of  majestic  forest-trees.  The  per 
spective  was  excellently  preserved  ;  the  foliage,  verdure,  and 
general  colouring  was  artistically  toned  and  glazed.  ...  It 
was  a  drop-scene,  and  hung  about  the  middle  of  the  third 
entrance,  as  called  in  stage-directions.  The  name  of  Andre 
was  inscribed  in  large  black  letters  on  the  back  of  it,  thus 
placed  no  doubt  by  his  own  hand  on  its  completion  ;  —  some 
times  a  custom  with  scenic  artists."  * 

On  the  24th  December,  1777,  matters  were  sufficiently 
advanced  for  the  undertakers  to  determine  on  the  piece  they 
should  first  appear  in,  and  to  advertise  for  an  accountant  or 
sub-treasurer,  a  swift  and  clear  writer  for  the  distribution  of 
parts,  and  for  practised  scene-shifters  and  carpenters.  The 
play  first  resolved  on  was  perhaps  The  Wonder,  or  A 
Woman  keeps  a  Secret.  It  was  advertised  for  as  "  wanted 
immediately  for  the  use  of  the  theatre,  to  borrow  or  buy,"  on 
the  3rd  January  ;  but  if  there  was  any  one  point  on  which 
the  Presbyterian  and  Quaker  agreed,  it  was  in  aversion  to 
theatres,  and  the  piece  was  not  soon  forthcoming.  Accord 
ingly,  on  the  14th  January,  for  the  benefit  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  army,  were  given  the  comedies  of  No  One's 

*  Few  persons  of  taste  who  have  ever  seen  this  drop  will  hesitate  to  con 
firm  its  praises.  The  "  Old  South,"  as  the  theatre  came  to  be  known,  sank 
from  the  hour  when  playhouses  might  lawfully  exist  within  the  city  limits. 
It  became  at  last  the  resort  of  the  most  depraved  of  both  sexes,  and  the 
witness  of  their  infamies.  In  1821,  it  was  burned  down;  and  despite  every 
effort  to  save  the  scenery,  particularly  the  drop  painted  by  Andre,  its  con 
tents  were  consumed.  Some  part  of  the  Avails  yet  stand.  For  years  pre 
viously  throngs  of  the  vulgar  had  crowded  the  house  every  Fourth  of  July, 
to  witness  a  piece  well  suited  to  their  tastes  and  understandings,  and  found 
ed  on  his  fate. 

There  is  still  preserved  at  Philadelphia  a  figure  of  a  British  grenadier, 
cut  out  of  half-inch  board,  six  feet  high,  with  rounded  edges,  and  painted 
to  the  life,  which  tradition  says  was  made  by  Andre".  If  so,  it  was  proba 
bly  a  stage  decoration.  It  got  into  American  hands,  and  was  used  in  prac 
tical  joke  to  heartily  frighten  some  of  our  officers. 


AMATEUR  THEATRICALS.  155 

Enemy  but  his  Own,  and  The  Deuce  is  in  Him.  The 
characters  were  represented  by  officers  of  the  army  and 
navy  ;  the  doors  opened  at  6  p.  M.,  and  the  play  began  at 
7  ;  the  tickets  were  a  dollar  for  box  or  pit,  and  half  a  dollar 
for  the  gallery.  No  money  was  to  be  taken  at  the  door,  nor 
were  more  tickets  sold  than  the  house  would  hold.  I  have 
had  the  fortune  to  stumble  upon  a  collection  of  specimens  of 
all  these  theatrical  bills,  tickets,  notices,  &c.,  with  an  indorse 
ment  of  the  number  struck  off  of  each,  that  had  been  pre 
served  by  James  Humphreys,  the  printer,  together  with  all 
the  handbills  of  proclamations  and  the  like  issued  during  the 
Occupation.  From  these  may  be  deduced  some  idea  of  what 
the  house  held.  Of  notices  of  performance,  1000  copies 
would  be  printed  ;  and  660  box-tickets.  And  so  popular 
did  the  entertainment  soon  become,  that  the  doors  were 
opened  ere  sunset,  and  they  who  wished  places  kept  for 
them  had  to  send  their  servants  to  the  house  at  4  p.  M. 

The  first  performance  was  eminently  successful.  Despite 
the  legislative  prohibition  of  public  theatricals,  amateur  rep 
resentations  were  in  great  vogue  with  the  more  refined  and 
cultivated  classes  in  various  parts  of  America.  In  staid  Con 
necticut,  the  late  venerable  Bishop  Griswold  at  the  early  age 
of  seven  shone  as  a  page  in  Fair  Rosamond  in  1773,  and  in 
1781,  was  great  as  Zanga  in  The  Revenge.  In  Pennsylvania, 
particularly  among  the  churchmen  and  moderate  dissenters, 
a  like  taste  prevailed ;  and  though  the  playhouse  could  only 
be  reached  on  foot,  by  miry  and  unlighted  paths  (for  there 
were  no  hackney-coaches  in  those  days,  and  very  few  private 
coaches),  the  ladies  did  not  shrink  to  trip  thither  and  back 
home  after  nightfall.  The  house  was  opened  for  the  season 
and  the  play  introduced  by  the  following  prologue,  which 
there  is  much  reason  for  attributing  to  Andre,  both  in  com 
position  and  delivery :  — 

PROLOGUE. 

Once  more,  ambitious  of  theatric  glory, 
Howe's  strolling  company  appears  before  ye. 


156  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

O'er  hills  and  dales  and  bogs,  thro'  wind  and  weather 

And  many  hair-breadth  'scape,  we  've  scrambled  hither. 

For  we,  true  vagrants  of  the  Thespian  race, 

Whilst  summer  lasts  ne'er  know  a  settled  place. 

Anxious  to  prove  the  merit  of  our  band, 

A  chosen  squadron  wanders  thro'  the  land. 

How  beats  each  Yankie  bosom  at  our  drum  — 

— '  Hark,  Jonathan !  zaunds,  here  's  the  strollers  come ! ' 

Spruced  up  with  top-knots  and  their  Sunday  dress, 

With  eager  looks  the  maidens  round  us  press. 

— '  Jemima,  see —  an't  this  a  charming  sight  — 

Look,  Tabitha  — Oh  Lord!  I  wish  'twas  night! ' 

Wing'd  with  variety  our  moments  fly, 

Each  minute  tinctur'd  with  a  different  dye. 

Balls  we  have  plenty,  and  al  Fresco  too, 

Such  as  Soho  or  King-street  never  knew. 

Did  you  but  see  sometimes  how  we're  arrayed, 

You'd  fancy  we  design'd  a  masquerade. 

'T  would  tire  your  patience  was  I  to  relate  here 

Our  routs,  drums,  hurricanes,  and  Fetes  Champetres. 

Let  Ranelagh  still  boast  her  ample  dome ; 

While  heaven  's  our  canopy,  the  earth  's  our  room. 

Still  let  Vauxhall  her  marshall'd  lamps  display, 

And  gild  her  shades  with  artificial  day : 

In  lofty  terms  old  vaunting  Sadler's  Wells 

Of  her  tight-rope  and  ladder-dancing  tells, 

But  Cunningham  in  both  by  far  excels. 

Now  winter  * Hark !  and  I  must  not  say  No  — 

'  But  soft,  a  word  or  two  before  I  go.' 
Benevolence  first  urged  us  to  engage, 
And  boldly  venture  on  a  public  stage : 
To  guard  the  helpless  orphan's  tender  years, 
To  wipe  away  the  afflicted  parent's  tears, 
To  sooth  the  sorrows  of  the  widow' d  breast, 
To  lull  the  friendless  bosom's  cares  to  rest; 
This  our  design  —  and  sure  in  such  a  cause 
E'en  Error's  self  might  challenge  some  applause. 
With  candor  then  our  imperfections  scan, 
And  where  the  Actor  fails,  absolve  the  Man. 

*  Stage-bell  rings. 

The  success  of  the  first  night  was  really  beyond  expecta 
tion,  and  a  notice  was  issued  begging  gentlemen  not  to  bribe 
the  door-keepers :  "  The  Foreign  Gentleman  who  slipped  a 
Guinea  and  a  half  into  the  hands  of  the  boxkeeper,  and 


AMATEUR  THEATRICALS.  157 

forced  his  way  into  the  house,  is  requested  to  send  to  the 
office  of  the  theatre  in  Front-street,  that  it  may  be  returned." 
Such  advertisements  do  not  occur  nowadays.  The  perform 
ances  during  the  rest  of  the  season  were  as  follows :  On  the 
26th  January,  The  Minor,  and  The  Deuce  is  in  Him  ;  on 
the  9th  February,  The  Minor,  and  Duke  and  No  Duke ;  on 
the  16th,  Constant  Couple,  and  Duke  and  No  Duke.  The 
illness  of  a  chief  actor  and  other  causes  prevented  any  more 
plays  till  March  2nd,  when  The  Constant  Couple  and  The 
Mock  Doctor  were  given ;  on  the  9th,  The  Inconstant  and 
The  Mock  Doctor,  with  a  display  of  fireworks ;  on  the  1 6th, 
The  Inconstant^  and  Lethe  ;  on  the  25th,  The  First  Part  of 
King  Henry  IV.,  and  The  Mock  Doctor ;  on  the  30th,  The 
First  Part,  &c.,  and  Lethe.  Then  one  of  the  actresses  fell 
sick  ;  Passion  Week  came  on ;  and  nothing  was  played  be 
fore  The  Wonder  and  The  Mock  Doctor,  on  the  24th  April. 
The  Liar  and  A  Trip  to  Scotland  were  played  on  the  1st 
May ;  a  copy  of  Douglas  was  advertised  for  on  the  2nd  ;  on 
the  6th  were  represented  The  Liar,  and  Duke  and  No  Duke  ; 
and  on  the  19th,  Dr.  Home's  play  of  Douglas,  and  the  Citizen. 
This  was  the  last  performance.  When  the  curtain  fell,  the 
officers  resorted  to  a  sort  of  club-room  that  was  established  in 
the  large  apartments  of  the  City  Tavern,  where  their  weekly 
balls  were  held ;  and  here  Charles  Lee  was  introduced  in 
March,  1778,  after  witnessing  the  evening's  play.  The  bills 
give  no  distribution  of  parts,  and  we  cannot  tell  what  charac 
ters  came  to  Andre's  share ;  but  we  may  well  believe  that  in 
Douglas  he  appeared  as  the  young  hero  whose  feigned  con 
ditions  so  much  resembled  his  own. 

"  Obscure  and  friendless,  be  the  army  sought, 
Resolved  to  hunt  for  fame,  and  with  his  sword 
To  gain  distinction  which  his  birth  denied. 
In  this  attempt,  unknown  he  might  have  perish'd 
And  gain'd  with  all  his  valor  but  oblivion. 
Now  graced  by  thee,  his  virtue  serves  no  more, 
Beneath  despair.    The  soldier  now  of  hope, 
He  stands  conspicuous ;  fame  and  great  renown 
Are  brought  within  the  compass  of  his  sword." 


158  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDE& 

And  in  another  passage  of  the  same  play,  we  find  language 
that  indeed  expresses  what  seems  to  have  been  the  key-note 
of  Andre's  character.  "  Living  or  dead,  let  me  but  be  re- 
nown'd,"  appears  truly  to  have  been  the  unaltered  wish  of  his 
soul. 

Without  going  into  too  many  particulars,  there  is  abundant 
testimony  that  gambling,  races,  plays,  and  gallantries  occu 
pied  more  of  the  attention  of  the  royal  officers,  during  this 
winter,  than  was  at  all  consistent  with  the  good  of  the  service. 

The  military  feats  about  Philadelphia,  in  the  earlier  part 
of  1778,  were  neither  numerous  or  important.  Howe  aimed 
at  little  more  than  keeping  a  passage  clear  for  the  country- 
people,  within  certain  bounds,  to  come  in  with  marketing. 
The  incident  known  as  the  Battle  of  the  Kegs  was  celebrated 
by  Hopkinson  in  a  very  amusing  song  that,  wedded  to  the  air 
of  Maggy  Lander,  was  long  the  favorite  of  the  American 
military  vocalists ;  but  it  hardly  seems  to  have  been  noticed 
at  Philadelphia,  until  the  whig  version  came  in.  The  local 
newspapers  say  that,  in  January,  1778,  a  barrel  floating  down 
the  Delaware  being  taken  up  by  some  boys  exploded  in 
their  hands,  and  killed  or  maimed  one  of  them.  A  few  days 
after,  some  of  the  transports  fired  a  few  guns  at  several  other 
kegs  that  appeared  on  the  tide ;  but  no  particular  notice  of 
the  occurrence  was  taken.  These  torpedoes  were  sent  down 
in  the  hope  that  they  would  damage  the  shipping.  The 
Queen's  Rangers  and  other  troops  were  constantly  employed 
in  patrols  and  forages,  but,  beyond  bringing  in  Americans 
whom  they  caught  stopping  and  stripping  the  market-people, 
there  was  little*  to  be  done.  Howe,  too,  set  on  foot  several 
loyal  corps  of  the  vicinity  that  proved  very  useful.  Hoven- 
den,  with  his  Philadelphia  Light  Dragoons  and  some  of 
Thomas's  Bucks  County  Volunteers,  made  a  foray  on  the 
14th  of  February,  and  brought  in  a  number  of  prisoners. 
On  the  next  day  400  Americans  came  within  GOO  yards  of 
one  of  the  pickets,  "  and  after  making  a  terrible  howling,"  and 
exchanging  fires,  retired  leaving  three  dead.  On  the  18th, 


MISCONDUCT   OF   THE  ROYAL  ARMS.  159 

Hovenden  and  Thomas  passed  up  to  Jenk's  fulling-mill  in 
Bucks,  and  thence  to  Newtown,  surprising  the  Americans 
posted  there  to  intercept  market-people,  and  bringing  in 
thirty-four  prisoners  as  well  as  two  coach-loads  of  things 
from  Galloway's  country-seat.  This  was  doubtless  a  prime 
object  of  the  move ;  and  it  is  thus  we  can  account  for  the 
loss  of  invaluable  papers  (particularly  Franklin's)  respecting 
our  history,  that  were  left  in  Galloway's  hands.  On  the 
23rd,  Hovenden  went  thirty  miles  up  the  Skippack  Road,  and 
returned  on  the  24th,  with  130  fine  cattle  and  some  pris 
oners.  He  reported  the  Americans  as  excessively  severe 
on  market-people,  and  that  Lacey  had  burned  the  mills 
about  the  city  to  the  infinite  misery  of  the  town-folk ;  to 
whose  poor,  salted  beef  was  now  publicly  distributed.  Some 
of  the  Americans  had  great  reputation  as  market-stoppers ; 
these,  when  caught,  were  decorated  with  their  spoils  —  eggs, 
women's  shoes,  and  the  like  —  and  so  paraded  through  the 
streets  to  gaol ;  or  were  publicly  whipped  in  the  market 
place,  and  drummed  out  of  town.*  Simcoe  very  much  ap 
plauds  the  skill  with  which  a  loyalist,  pretending  to  be  an 
American  commissary,  turned  a  fat  drove  of  Washington's 
cattle  into  British  beef.  Such  little  stratagems,  however, 
were  usually  crowned  by  our  people  with  a  halter.  In  these 
pat  rollings  the  two  antagonists  occasionally  came  in  contact. 

*  "  On  Saturday  last,  a  rebel  light  horseman,  loaded  with  several  -wallets 
across  his  shoulders,  and  a  large  basket  on  his  arm,  full  of  market-truck,  of 
which  he  had  robbed  the  country  people  coming  to  market,  was  brought  in, 
having  been  taken  a  few  miles  from  the  lines  at  the  very  time  he  was  plun 
dering.  The  drollery  of  his  appearance  aftbrded  no  little  amusement  to  the 
populace." — Penn.  Ledger,  Apr.  22,  1778.  Galloway  says  that  it  was  usual 
to  give  200  lashes  to  the  market-people  caught  coming  to  town ;  or  to  send 
them  in  to  Howe,  with  G.  H.  branded  on  their  flesh  with  a  hot  iron ;  and  the 
local  journals  of  March,  1778,  tell  of  several  persons,  taken  on  their  way  to 
buy  provisions,  being  court-martialled  at  Wilmington  and  sentenced,  some 
to  be  hung,  others  to  be  flogged.  They  got  off  with  being  tied  to  the  gal 
lows  and  thus  receiving  250  to  500  lashes  from  "  wired  cats  that  cut  large 
pieces  from  them  at  every  stroke."  Some  enlisted  Avith  the  Americans  to 
avoid  punishment,  and  then  deserted.  So,  at  least,  says  the  Ledger,  Xo. 
153. 


1GO  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

On  the  20th  of  March  a  large  party  of  American  horse  were 
encountered  beyond  Schuylkill  by  the  mounted  yagers,  and 
defeated  with  loss.  On  another  occasion,  during  the  occu 
pation,  Generals  Cadwalader  and  Reed  with  one  follower 
riding  and  reconnoitring  through  the  country,  had  stopped  at 
the  house  of  a  Quaker  to  whom  they  were  known.  Passing 
on,  and  being  caught  in  a  rain,  they  had  turned  the  blue 
cartouche  cloaks  they  wore  so  that  the  red  lining  was  ex 
posed  to  the  shower,  and  were  hastily  galloping  back  to  camp 
when,  as  they  repassed  the  Quaker's  house,  he  came  rushing 
out  to  them.  "  Gentlemen,  gentlemen  !  "  he  cried,  mistaking 
their  scarlet  for  British  uniform,  "  if  you  will  only  turn  back 
you  will  certainly  catch  General  Reed  and  General  Cadwal 
ader,  who  have  just  gone  down  that  road  ! "  His  confusion 
at  discovering  his  blunder  may  be  guessed ;  and  it  afterwards 
came  near  to  hang  him  when  Reed  was  in  power.  For  pi 
loting  Abercrombie  on  the  1st  of  May,  when  Lacey's  post  at 
the  Crooked  Billet  was  broken  up,  John  Roberts  actually 
was  hung,  after  whig  supremacy  was  established  at  Phila 
delphia. 

The  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1778  found  the  British 
councils  at  London  in  great  perplexity.  HOAVC'S  recall  was 
a  settled  thing ;  but  it  was  as  yet  unknown  whether  the 
Americans  would  listen  to  the  new  commissioners  sent  to 
them,  or  ally  themselves  with  France.  Lord  Amherst,  a 
great  authority  with  the  king,  advised  that  in  the  latter  con 
tingency  the  royal  armies  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  con 
tinent  to  the  West  Indies  ;  and  in  any  event,  that  a  retreat 
from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  should  at  once  be  made. 
Meanwhile,  Sir  William  was  looking  about  for  an  opening  to 
cover  his  retirement  with  an  active  lustre  ;  stimulated,  per 
haps,  thereto  by  the  friendly  satire  of  his  subordinates,  one 
of  whom  (afterwards  General  Meadows,  then  the  lieuten 
ant-colonel  of  the  55th,  Howe's  own  regiment)  bluntly  re 
proached  his  commander's  slothful  devotion  to  pleasure,  and 
asked  him  if  he  did  not  think  it  was  now  time  to  set  out  of 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1778.  161 

his  bed  and  to  get  on  his  horse.  On  the  1st  of  April,  the 
army  was  ordered  to  be  ready,  with  three  days'  provision  and 
at  a  moment's  warning,  for  an  enterprise  on  the  oth.  But  no 
large  movement  was  made.  A  detachment  of  1400,  indeed, 
by  a  night-march  relieved  Billingsport,  where  our  people 
were  besieging  some  refugees  ;  and,  on  the  24th  and  the  26th, 
parties  (one  led  by  De  Lancy)  went  forth  successfully  against 
bodies  of  Americans.  Transports  were  now7  fast  coming  in 
with  forage  from  New  York,  and  troops  and  stores  from 
Cork  ;  on  the  7th  of  May,  Clinton  was  at  Billingsport ;  and 
on  the  8th  he  arrived  at  Philadelphia.  On  the  10th,  an  ex 
pedition  sent  on  the  7th  to  Bordentown  to  burn  the  Ameri 
can  frigates  and  stores  there  returned,  having  succeeded  per 
fectly.  On  the  night  of  April  30th,  Abercrombie  led  a  party 
of  light  troops,  with  which  were  some  of  James's  and  Hoven- 
den's  loyalists,  against  Lacey  near  the  Crooked  Billet.  By  the 
British  account,  Lacey  resisted  at  first,  but  was  forced  to  fly, 
and  was  pursued  four  miles.  His  loss  was  80  to  100  killed, 
and  fifty  taken ;  besides  ten  wagons  of  baggage  and  stores. 
His  huts,  and  what  equipage  could  not  be  brought  off  were 
burned. 

No  longer  relying  on  militia,  in  whatever  strength,  to  fulfil 
the  ends  required  of  a  stout  outlying  force  between  himself 
and  the  enemy,  Washington  on  the  18th  of  May  ordered 
La  Fayette,  w7ith  five  guns  and  2500  of  the  flower  of  the 
army,  to  pass  over  the  Valley  Forge  bridge,  and  take  post 
in  his  front.  The  Marquis  accordingly  placed  himself  at 
Barren  Hill,  on  this  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  and  about  midway 
between  the  two  armies.  But  the  Quaker  with  whom  he 
quartered  himself  is  said  to  have  promptly  communicated  the 
circumstance  to  Howe.  The  news  reached  Philadelphia  that 
La  Fayette's  "tattered  retinue  had  abandoned  their  mud- 
holes  "  and  were  advancing  towards  Germantown.  An  at 
tack  was  instantly  concerted.  There  were  plenty  of  men  in 
Howe's  ranks  who  knew  every  inch  of  the  ground  ;  some  of 
the  loyalist  troopers  were  residents  of  the  place  itself,  and 
ll 


162  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

were  the  best  of  guides.  So  inevitable  appeared  success  that 
Sir  William,  ere  setting  forth,  invited  ladies  to  meet  La  Fay- 
ette  at  supper  on  his  return ;  while  Lord  Howe,  who  went 
along  as  a  volunteer,  prepared  a  frigate  for  the  immediate 
transmission  to  England  of  the  expected  captive.  In  a  war 
like  this,  where  public  opinion  was  so  powerful,  the  effect  of 
such  an  event  would  have  been  prodigious.  It  is  pleasing  to 
reflect,  not  only  that  the  design  failed,  but  that  its  failure  was 
due  to  an  officer  who  held  American  soldiership  in  the  ex 
treme  of  contempt,  and  whose  whole  American  history, 
whether  before  or  during  the  war,  is  a  tissue  of  arrogance 
and  shortcomings. 

"  I  was  present  at  this  move,"  says  Sir  Henry  Clinton  ;  "  it 
was  made  before  I  took  the  command.  As  Sir  W.  Howe  was 
there,  I  gave  no  opinion  about  the  plan  or  execution."*  To 
an  unprofessional  man,  there  seems  to  be  room  for  but  one 
opinion  about  either.  The  plan  was  admirable ;  the  execu 
tion  imperfect.  With  5,000  men,  Grant  marched  on  the 
evening  of  the  19th  by  the  Delaware  Road  to  a  sufficient 
distance ;  when,  turning  to  the  left  by  Whitemarsh,  he  was 
at  sunrise  a  mile  in  La  Fayette's  rear,  and  between  him  and 
the  Valley  Forge  bridge.  At  a  later  hour,  Grey  (and  of 
course  Andre)  brought  up  2,000  men  by  a  more  direct  road 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  and  established  himself 
at  a  ford  two  or  three  miles  in  front  of  La  Fayette's  right 
flank.  A  force  was  also  stationed  at  Chestnut  Hill.  Thus 
the  Americans  were  so  environed,  that  in  no  direction  could 
they  march  without  encountering  an  enemy,  unless  they  could 
repass  the  river  ;  and  there  was  but  one  ford  (Matson's)  now 
available  for  this  purpose,  which  was  even  nearer  to  Grant's 
position  than  their  own. 

Howe  had,  by  a  wonder,  ordered  matters  so  cleverly  that 
not  the  least  whisper  of  his  intentions  reached  our  people 
beforehand.  It  was  on  a  play-night  that  the  expedition  set 
forth,  and  most  of  the  officers  were  witnessing  Douglas  when 

*  Clinton  MS. 


HOWE'S   MOVEMENT   AGAINST  LA  FAYETTE.         163 

the  troops  were  getting  under  arms  or  actually  in  motion. 
But  so  large  a  force  could  not  leave  town  without  the  knowl 
edge  of  Washington's  faithful  intelligencers  ;  and  by  the  time 
they  reached  their  positions,  the  fact  was  known  in  our  camp. 
Grant's  advance  was,  at  sunrise,  halted  at  a  spot  where  the 
road  forked  ;  one  course  leading  to  Barren  Hill,  another  to 
Matson's  Ford.  For  an  hour  and  a  half  his  column  stood  at 
ease;  the  men  unfatigued,  but  chagrined  and  angry,  the 
General  in  doubt  what  line  to  pursue.  He  was  vainly  urged 
to  take  possession  of  Matson's  Ford ;  but  thinking,  probably, 
that  his  situation  would  enable  him  either  to  attack  La  Fay- 
ette  by  the  one  road,  whether  he  moved  on  it  or  remained  at 
Barren  Hill,  or  to  intercept  him  by  the  other  if  he  tried  for 
the  ford,  he  remained  idle.  Nevertheless,  the  British  ad 
vance  was  now  no  secret.  Simcoe,  who  led  Grant's  column 
at  the  prescribed  pace  of  two  miles  an  hour,  had  just  after 
dawn  encountered  a  patrol  that  retired  before  him  ;  two 
officers,  who  had  made  an  early  start  from  Barren  Hill  to 
Jersey,  hastened  back  with  tidings  of  the  enemy's  approach  ; 
and  an  American  on  the  road,  seeing  them  on  their  way,  had 
hastened  across  the  country  to  give  warning.  From  Valley 
Forge  also  alarm-gun  after  alarm-gun  now  pealed  forth. 
The  post  was  withdrawn  from  this  side  of  the  bridge ;  prep 
arations  for  its  destruction  were  made  ;  and  it  was  even  al 
leged  that  Washington  almost  looked  forward  to  retreating, 
with  all  he  could  carry,  towards  the  Susquehannah. 

La  Fayette  proved  himself  adequate  to  the  occasion.  In 
a  moment,  as  it  were,  his  dangers  were  revealed,  and  the  one 
possible  means  of  extrication  resorted  to.  Dispositions  were 
made  in  the  church-yard  as  though  to  receive  Grey  ;  his  ar 
tillery,  by  a  well-directed  fire,  encouraged  the  idea  that  he 
purposed  to  engage.  His  real  aim  was  of  course  flight,  and 
by  the  ford ;  but  to  attain  it,  he  must  pass  within  a  short 
distance  of  Grant,  who  was  nearer  to  it  than  himself.  By 
feigned  movements  as  though  for  an  attack,  and  an  occa 
sional  display  of  the  heads  of  columns,  he  for  a  time  per- 


164  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDEE. 

suaded  the  Englishman  that  an  action  was  imminent.  Mean 
time  his  troops,  as  fast  as  they  could  come  up,  were  hurrying 
across  the  ford,  till  at  last  the  artillery  only  and  a  body  of 
Oneida  savages  remained  on  this  side  the  stream.  These 
were  also  now  brought  over,  and  on  the  high  grounds  be 
yond  our  men  were  secure.  Grant  at  last  came  up,  and 
ordered  the  advance  to  move  on  ;  but  too  late.  They  saw 
but  a  party  of  our  troops  dotting  the  surface  of  the  water, 
like  the  floats  of  a  seine.  The  prey  had  escaped.  Grant 
was  hopelessly  in  their  rear ;  and  when  Grey's  column  closed 
in,  there  was  nothing  between  the  British  lines.  The  only 
skirmishing  even  that  seems  to  have  occurred  was  between 
a  body  of  light-horse  and  the  Oneidas.  Neither  had  ever 
encountered  a  like  foe ;  and  when  the  cavalry  unexpectedly 
rode  among  the  savages,  the  whooping  and  scampering  of  the 
one,  and  the  flashing  swords  and  curveting  steeds  of  the  other 
party,  excited  such  a  common  terror  that  both  fled  with  the 
utmost  precipitation.  Irritated  and  empty-handed  Howe 
marched  back  to  town,  with  no  one  but  his  own  officers  to 
blame  for  his  ill-success.*  On  the  24th  of  May,  he  surren 
dered  the  command  to  Clinton,  and  arrived  in  England  on 
the  2nd  of  July.  One  of  the  last  acts  of  his  authority  was  to 
ordain  a  lottery,  on  the  loth  of  May,  directed  by  substantial 
citizens,  to  raise  £1,000  for  the  poor  of  the  city. 

Whatever  may  have  been  his  shortcomings  to  ministers, 
it  is  certain  that  Howe  was  beloved  by  his  troops.  He  was 
ever  careful  of  them  in  battle,  and  in  quarters  his  own  indul 
gences  were  shared  by  them.  Dissipation,  gambling,  relaxa 
tion  of  discipline,  may  have  indeed  tainted  the  army  ;  but 
they  knew  their  leader  to  be  personally  brave,  and  capable 
in  the  field  ;  and  by  his  very  errors  their  own  comfort  was 

*  "  It  will  no  doubt  have  struck  whoever  reads  this,  that  La  Fayette  es 
caped  exactly  by  the  same  means  the  garrison  of  Fort  Lee  had  done:  with 
this  difference,  that  Lord  Cornwallis  had  not  been  informed  of  the  situation 
of  Newbridge,  and  Sir  William  Erskine  repeatedly  entreated  General  Grant 
to  march  directly  to  Matson's  Ford.  Had  lie  done  so,  not  a  man  of  La 
Fayette's  corps  would  have  escaped."  —  Clinton  MS. 


THE  MISCHLLHZA.  165 

increased.  It  was  therefore  resolved,  by  a  number  of  those 
most  conspicuous  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  and  attachment 
to  the  General,  to  commemorate  their  esteem  for  him  by  an 
entertainment  not  less  novel  than  splendid.  This  was  the 
famous  Mischianza  of  the  18th  of  May,  1778  ;  the  various 
nature  of  which  is  expressed  by  its  name,  while  its  concep 
tion  is  evidently  taken  from  Lord  Derby's  fete  champetre  at 
The  Oaks,  June  9th,  1774,  on  occasion  of  Lord  Stanley's 
marriage  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton's  daughter.  Burgoyne 
was  the  conductor  of  this  elegant  affair,  with  its  masques, 
fireworks,  dancing,  &c. ;  and  for  it  he  wrote  his  play, — The 
Maid  of  the  Oaks.  The  regatta,  or  aquatic  procession,  in 
the  Mischianza  was  suggested  by  a  like  pageant  on  the 
Thames,  June  23rd,  1775.  Each  of  these  festivities  —  the 
first  of  the  kind  in  England  —  had  been  much  talked  of  and 
admired  at  the  time. 

Both  in  the  plan  and  execution  of  this  affair,  Andre's  near 
alliance  with  head-quarters  led  him  to  be  much  concerned. 
His  brush  as  well  as  his  taste  was  engaged  in  the  decora 
tions,  nor  was  his  pen  idle.  A  mock  tournament  —  perhaps 
the  first  in  America  —  was  a  part  of  the  play  ;  and  for  this 
he  selected  as  esquire  his  brother  William  Lewis  Andre, 
now  a  lieutenant  in  the  7th.  The  appointed  scene  was  at  the 
country-seat  of  Mr.  Wharton  :  then  a  fine  stately  mansion, 
surrounded  with  large  trees  and  its  grounds  extending  unin 
terruptedly  to  the  Delaware ;  now  pent  about  with  factory 
buildings  and  houses,  and  occupied  as  a  public  school.*  Here 

*  The  proprietor  of  this  estate  is  described  as  a  man  of  no  little  social 
importance.  He  was  usually  styled  Duke  by  reason  of  his  manners.  When 
Sir  William  Draper  was  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Wharton,  in  visiting  him,  en 
tered  hat  in  hand.  Sir  William  condescendingly  bade  him  be  covered :  he 
would  dispense  with  those  marks  of  respect,  he  said,  which  he  knew  it  was 
ungrateful  to  Friends  to  render.  The  visitor,  however,  coolly  replied  that  he 
had  uncovered  for  his  own  comfort,  the  day  being  warm,  and  that  whenever 
he  found  it  convenient  he  should  certainly  resume  his  hat.  He  was  utterly 
outgeneralled  though  during  the  occupation  by  a  private  soldier.  The 
man  had  laid  aside  his  musket  to  trespass  on  Mr.  Wharton1  s  grounds.  The 
owner,  possessing  himself  of  it,  by  threats  of  carrying  it  to  the  guard-house 


16G  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Sir  Henry  Calder  was  lodged,  whose  name  is  subscribed  to 
the  invitations.  It  was  not  a  bad  season  for  one  branch  of 
the  festivity;  remarkably  fine  green  turtle,  just  arrived  from 
New  Providence,  and  choice  Claret  and  Madeira  wines,  were 
then  in  market  and  doubtless  contributed  to  the  cold  colla 
tion  that  crowned  the  whole.  Much  of  the  decorations,  as  the 
Sienna  marble,  &c.,  was  on  canvas,  in  the  manner  of  stage- 
scenery.  The  supper-room  was  built  however  for  the  occa 
sion,  and  at  every  toast  given  in  it,  a  flourish  of  music  was 
answered  with  three  cheers.  The  mirrors,  lustres,  &c.,  which 
adorned  the  scene  were  borrowed,  says  Watson,  from  the 
town-folk,  and  all  were  returned  uninjured,  with  the  orna 
ments  that  had  been  added  still  appended.  Nothing  in  short 
more  disastrous  than  the  loss  of  a  silver  watch,  for  which  a 
guinea  reward,  "  and  no  questions  asked,"  was  offered,  seems 
to  have  occurred.  The  young  ladies  of  Philadelphia  present 
numbered  about  fifty ;  the  remainder  being  married  women. 
The  intended  wife  of  Captain  Montresor  was  the  leader  of 
one  rank,  while  the  second  was  headed  by  the  future  bride 
of  another  officer.*  The  queen  of  the  Mischianza,  however, 
is  said  to  have  been  a  lady  who,  in  describing  it  afterwards, 
represented  Andre  as  "  the  charm  of  the  company."  His 

compelled  the  man  to  humiliate  himself  thoroughly  by  way  of  penance ; 
but  no  sooner  was  his  piece  returned,  than  he  fell  on  the  Quaker,  and  l>v 
menaces  of  wounds  and  death  made  him  pass  under  the  Caudine  Forks  in 
the  most  comprehensive  sense  of  the  term. 

*  One  of  David  Franks'  daughters  was  married  to  Captain  (afterwards 
General)  Oliver  De  Lancy;  and  another  to  Colonel  (afterwards  General 
Sir  Henry)  Johnston  of  the  28th,  who  was  surprised  by  Wayne  at  Stony 
Point,  and  whom  Cornwallis  in  Ireland  thus  describes,  July  15,  1799: 
"  Johnston,  although  a  wrong-headed  blockhead,  is  adored  for  his  defence 
at  New  Ross,  and  considered  as  the  Saracen  of  the  South."  His  wife  was 
celebrated  in  America  for  her  undaunted  wit,  that,  generally  exercised  on 
the  Americans,  sometimes  found  a  British  subject.  It  was  she  Avlio  cor 
rected  Sir  H.  Clinton  when  he  called  on  a  ball-room  band  for  ''  Britons 
strike  home!  "  — u  Britons  go  home,  you  mean,''  she  cried.  —  And  see  Lit- 
tell's  Gray  don,  469. 

Fac-similes  of  Andrews  drawings  of  costumes,  &c.,  and  of  a  Mischianza 
ticket,  are  in  Smith  and  Watson ;  1847. 


ANDRE'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  MISCHIANZA.  167 

designs  for  the  costumes  of  the  ladies  of  the  Burning  Moun 
tain,  and  the  Blended  Rose,  are  still  preserved.  The  latter 
was  a  Polonaise,  or  flowing  robe  of  white  silk,  with  a  span 
gled  pink  sash,  and  spangled  shoes  and  stockings ;  a  veil 
spangled  and  trimmed  with  silver  lace,  and  a  towering  head 
dress  of  pearls  and  jewels.  The  former  had  their  white 
Polonaises  bound  with  black,  and  sashes  of  the  same.  The 
wharves  and  house-tops  towards  the  water  were  thronged  with 
spectators  as  the  boats,  filled  with  these  gayly  dressed  nymphs 
and  not  less  brightly  clad  gallants,  passed  from  the  northern 
part  of  the  city  to  the  scene  of  pleasure.  But  Andre  him 
self  has  given  a  full  account  of  the  whole  proceeding. 


ANDRE    TO    A    FRIEND. 

PHILADELPHIA,  May  23,  1778. 

FOR  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  write  to  you  with  unwill 
ingness.  The  ship  that  carries  home  Sir  William  Howe 
will  convey  this  letter  to  you,  and  not  even  the  pleasure  of 
conversing  with  my  friend  can  secure  me  from  the  general 
dejection  I  see  around  me,  or  remove  the  share  I  must  take 
in  the  universal  regret  and  disappointment  which  his  ap 
proaching  departure  hath  spread  throughout  the  whole  army. 
We  see  him  taken  from  us  at  a  time  when  we  most  stand  in 
need  of  so  skilful  and  popular  a  commander  ;  when  the  ex 
perience  of  three  years,  and  the  knowledge  he  hath  acquired 
of  the  country  and  people,  have  added  to  the  confidence  we 
always  placed  in  his  conduct  and  abilities.  You  know  he 
was  always  a  favourite  with  the  military ;  but  the  affection 
and  attachment  which  all  ranks  of  officers  in  this  army  bear 
him,  can  only  be  known  by  those  who  have  at  this  time  seen 
them  in  their  effects.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  upon  record 
an  instance  of  a  Commander-in-Chief  having  so  universally 
endeared  himself  to  those  under  his  command  ;  or  of  one 
who  received  such  signal  and  flattering  proofs  of  their  love. 
That  our  sentiments  might  be  the  more  universally  and  un- 


168  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDK& 

equivocally  known,  it  was  resolved  amongst  us,  that  we 
should  give  him  as  splendid  an  entertainment  as  the  short 
ness  of  the  time,  and  our  present  situation,  would  allow  us. 
For  the  expences,  the  whole  army  would  have  most  chear- 
fully  contributed  ;  but  it  was  requisite  to  draw  the  line  some 
where,  and  twenty-two  field-officers  joined  in  a  subscription 
adequate  to  the  plan  they  meant  to  adopt.  I  know  your 
curiosity  will  be  raised  on  this  occasion  ;  I  shall  therefore 
give  you  as  particular  an  account  of  our  Mischianza  as  I 
have  been  able  to  collect.  From  the  name  you  will  perceive 
that  it  was  made  up  of  a  variety  of  entertainments.  Four 
of  the  gentlemen  subscribers  were  appointed  managers  — 
Sir  John  Wrottesley,  Col.  O'Hara,  Major  Gardiner,  and 
Montresor,  the  chief  engineer.  On  the  tickets  of  admission, 
which  they  gave  out  for  Monday  the  18th,  was  engraved,  in 
a  shield,  a  view  of  the  sea,  with  the  setting  sun,  and  on  a, 
wreath,  the  words  Luceo  discedens,  aucto  splendore  rcsurgam. 
At  top  was  the  General's  crest,  with  vive  !  vale  !  All  round 
the  shield  ran  a  vignette,  and  various  military  trophies  filled 
up  the  ground. 

A  grand  regatta  began  the  entertainment.  It  consisted 
of  three  divisions.  In  the  first  was  the  Ferret  galley,  having 
on  board  several  General-Officers,  and  a  number  of  Ladies. 
In  the  centre,  was  the  Hussar  galley  with  Sir  William  and 
Lord  Howe,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  Officers  of  their  suite, 
and  some  Ladies.  The  Cornwallis  galley  brought  up  the 
rear,  having  on  board  General  Knyphausen  and  his  suite, 
three  British  Generals,  and  a  party  of  Ladies.  On  each 
quarter  of  these  gallies,  and  forming  their  division,  were  five 
flat  boats,  lined  with  green  cloth,  and  filled  with  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen.  In  front  of  the  whole  were  three  flat  boats,  with 
a  band  of  music  in  each.  Six  barges  rowed  about  each  flank, 
to  keep  off  the  swarm  of  boats  that  covered  the  river  from 
side  to  side.  The  gallies  were  dressed  out  in  a  variety  of 
colours  and  streamers,  and  in  each  flat  boat  was  displayed 
the  flag  of  its  own  division.  In  the  stream  opposite  the  ceil- 


ANDRfi'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  MISCHIANZA.  169 

tre  of  the  city,  the  Fanny  armed  ship,  magnificently  deco 
rated,  was  placed  at  anchor,  and  at  some  distance  ahead  lay 
his  Majesty's  ship  Roebuck,  with  the  Admiral's  flag  hoisted 
at  the  foretop-mast-head.  The  transport  ships,  extending  in 
a  line  the  whole  length  of  the  town,  appeared  with  colours 
flying,  and  crowded  with  spectators,  as  were  also  the  open 
ings  of  the  several  wharfs  on  shore,  exhibiting  the  most  pic 
turesque  and  enlivening  scene  the  eye  could  desire.  The 
rendezvous  was  at  Knight's  Wharf,  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  city.  By  half  after  four,  the  whole  company  were 
embarked,  and  the  signal  being  made  by  the  Vigilant's  man 
ning  ship,  the  three  divisions  rowed  slowly  down,  preserving 
their  proper  intervals,  and  keeping  time  to  the  music  that 
led  the  fleet.  Arrived  between  the  Fanny  and  the  Market 
\Vharf,  a  signal  was  made  from  one  of  the  boats  ahead,  and 
the  whole  lay  upon  their  oars,  while  the  music  played  God 
save  the  King^  and  three  cheers  given  from  the  vessels  were 
returned  from  the  multitude  on  shore.  By  this  time,  the 
flood-tide  became  too  rapid  for  the  gallies  to  advance  ;  they 
were  therefore  quitted,  and  the  company  disposed  of  in  the 
different  barges.  This  alteration  broke  in  upon  the  order  of 
procession,  but  was  necessary  to  give  sufficient  time  for  dis 
playing  the  entertainments  that  were  prepared  on  shore. 

The  landing-place  was  at  the  Old  Fort,  a  little  to  the 
southward  of  the  town,  fronting  the  building  prepared  for  the 
reception  of  the  company  about  four  hundred  yards  from  the 
water  by  a  gentle  ascent.  As  soon  as  the  General's  barge 
was  seen  to  push  for  the  shore,  a  salute  of  seventeen  guns 
was  fired  from  the  Roebuck,  and,  after  some  interval,  by  the 
same  number  from  the  Vigilant.  The  company,  as  they 
disembarked,  arranged  themselves  into  a  line  of  procession, 
and  advanced  through  an  avenue  formed  by  two  files  of 
grenadiers,  and  a  line  of  light-horse  supporting  each  file. 
This  avenue  led  to  a  square  lawn  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  on  each  side,  lined  with  troops,  and  properly  prepared 
for  the  exhibition  of  a  tilt  and  tournament,  according  to  the 


170  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    AXDRF.. 

customs  and  ordinances  of  ancient  chivalry.  We  proceeded 
through  the  centre  of  the  square.  The  music,  consisting  of 
all  the  bands  of  the  army,  moved  in  front.  The  Managers, 
with  favours  of  white  and  blue  ribbands  in  their  breasts,  fol 
lowed  next  in  order.  The  General,  Admiral,  and  the  rest 
of  the  company,  succeeded  promiscuously. 

In  front  appeared  the  building,  bounding  the  view  through 
a  vista  formed  by  two  triumphal  arches,  erected  at  proper 
intervals  in  a  line  with  the  landing-place.  Two  pavilions, 
with  rows  of  benches  rising  one  above  the  other,  and  serv 
ing  as  the  wings  of  the  first  triumphal  arch,  received  the 
Ladies ;  while  the  Gentlemen  ranged  themselves  in  con 
venient  order  on  each  side.  On  the  front  seat  of  each  pa 
vilion  were  placed  seven  of  the  principal  young  Ladies  of 
the  country,  dressed  in  Turkish  habits,  and  wearing  in  their 
turbans  the  favours  with  which  they  meant  to  reward  the 
several  Knights  who  were  to  contend  in  their  honour.  These 
arrangements  were  scarce  made  when  the  sound  of  trumpets 
was  heard  at  a  distance ;  and  a  band  of  Knights,  dressed  in 
ancient  habits  of  white  and  red  silk,  and  mounted  on  grey 
horses  richly  caparisoned  in  trappings  of  the  same  colours, 
entered  the  lists,  attended  by  their  Esquires  on  foot,  in  suit 
able  apparel,  in  the  following  order : 

Four  trumpeters,  properly  habited,  their  trumpets  deco 
rated  with  small  pendent  banners.  A  herald  in  his  robes 
of  ceremony  ;  on  his  tunic  was  the  device  of  his  band,  two 
roses  intertwined,  with  the  Motto,  We  droop  when  sepa 
rated. 

Lord  Cathcart,  superbly  mounted  on  a  managed  horse, 
appeared  as  chief  of  these  Knights;  two  young  black  slaves, 
with  sashes  and  drawers  of  blue  and  white  silk,  wearing  large 
silver  clasps  round  their  necks  and  arms,  their  breasts  and 
shoulders  bare,  held  his  stirrups.  On  his  right  hand  walked 
Capt.  Hazard,  and  on  his  left  Capt.  Brownlow,  his  two  Es 
quires,  the  one  bearing  his  lance,  the  other  his  shield. 

His  device  was  Cupid  riding  on  a  Lion ;  the  Motto,  Sur- 


ANDRE'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  MISCHIANZA.          171 

mounted  by  Love.  His  Lordship  appeared  in  honour  of  Miss 
Auchmuty. 

Then  came  in  order  the  Knights  of  his  band,  each  attended 
by  his  Squire  bearing  his  lance  and  shield. 

1st.  Knight,  Hon.  Capt.  Cathcart,  in  honour  of  Miss  N. 
White.  —  Squire,  Capt.  Peters.  —  Device,  a  heart  and  sword ; 
Motto,  Love  and  Honour. 

2nd.  Knight,  Lieut.  Bygrove,  in  honour  of  Miss  Craig.  — 
Squire,  Lieut.  Nichols.  —  Device,  Cupid  tracing  a  Circle ; 
Motto,  Without  End. 

3rd.  Knight,  Capt.  Andre,  in  honour  of  Miss  P.  Chew.  — 
Squire,  Lieut.  Andre.  —  Device,  two  Game-cocks  fighting ; 
Motto,  No  Rival. 

4th.  Knight,  Capt.  Horneck,  in  honour  of  Miss  N.  Red 
man. —  Squire,  Lieut.  Talbot. —  Device,  a  burning  Heart; 
Motto,  Absence  cannot  extinguish. 

5th.  Knight,  Capt.  Matthews,  in  honour  of  Miss  Bond.  — 
Squire,  Lieut.  Hamilton.  —  Device,  a  winged  Heart ;  Motto, 
Each  Fair  by  Turn. 

6th.  Knight,  Lieut.  Sloper,  in  honour  of  Miss  M.  Shippen. 
—  Squire,  Lieut.  Brown.  —  Device,  a  Heart  and  Sword  ; 
Motto,  Honour  and  the  Fair. 

After  they  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  square,  and  saluted 
the  Ladies  as  they  passed  before  the  pavilions,  they  ranged 
themselves  in  a  line  with  that  in  which  were  the  Ladies  of 
their  Device  ;  and  their  Herald  (Mr.  Beaumont),  advanc 
ing  into  the  centre  of  the  square,  after  a  flourish  of  trumpets, 
proclaimed  the  following  challenge  : 

"  The  Knights  of  the  Blended  Rose,  by  me  their  Herald, 
"  proclaim  and  assert  that  the  Ladies  of  the  Blended  Rose 
"  excel  in  wit,  beauty,  and  every  accomplishment,  those  of  the 
"  whole  World ;  and,  should  any  Knight  or  Knights  be  so 
"  hardy  as  to  dispute  or  deny  it,  they  are  ready  to  enter  the 
"  lists  with  them,  and  maintain  their  assertions  by  deeds  of 
"  arms,  according  to  the  laws  of  ancient  chivalry." 

At   the   third  repetition  of  the  challenge   the  sound  of 


172  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

trumpets  was  heard  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  square ; 
and  another  Herald,  with  four  Trumpeters,  dressed  in  black 
and  orange,  galloped  into  the  lists.  He  was  met  by  the 
Herald  of  the  Blended  Rose,  and  after  a  short  parley  they 
both  advanced  in  front  of  the  pavilions,  when  the  Black 
Herald  (Lieut.  Moore)  ordered  his  trumpets  to  sound,  and 
then  proclaimed  defiance  to  the  challenge  in  the  following 
words : 

"The  Knights  of  the  Burning  Mountain  present  tliem- 
"  selves  here,  not  to  contest  by  words,  but  to  disprove  by 
"  deeds,  the  vain-glorious  assertions  of  the  Knights  of  the 
"  Blended  Rose,  and  enter  these  lists  to  maintain,  that  the 
"  Ladies  of  the  Burning  Mountain  are  not  excelled  in  beauty, 
"  virtue,  or  accomplishments,  by  any  in  the  universe." 

He  then  returned  to  the  part  of  the  barrier  through  which 
he  had  entered,  and  shortly  after  the  Black  Knights,  attended 
by  their  Squires,  rode  into  the  lists  in  the  following  order  : 

Four  Trumpeters  preceding  the  Herald,  on  whose  tunic 
was  represented  a  mountain,  sending  forth  flames.  —  Motto, 
I  burn  for  ever. 

Captain  Watson,  of  the  guards,  as  Chief,  dressed  in  a  mag 
nificent  suit  of  black  and  orange  silk,  and  mounted  on  a  black 
managed  horse,  with  trappings  of  the  same  colour  with  his 
own  dress,  appeared  in  honour  of  Miss  Franks.  He  was 
attended  in  the  same  manner  with  Lord  Cathcart.  Capt. 
Scot  bore  his  lance,  and  Lieut.  Lyttelton  his  shield.  The 
Device,  a  Heart,  with  a  Wreath  of  Flowers  ;  Motto,  Love 
and  Glory. 

1st.  Knight,  Lieut.  Underwood,  in  honour  of  Miss  S.  Ship- 
pen.  —  Squire,  Ensign  Haverkam.  —  Device,  a  Pelican  feed 
ing  her  young  ;  Motto,  For  those  I  love. 

2nd.  Knight,  Lieut.  Winyard,  in  honour  of  Miss  P.  Ship- 
pen.  —  Squire,  Capt.  Boscawen.  —  Device,  a  Bay-leaf;  Mot 
to,  Unchangeable. 

3rd.  Knight,  Lieut.  Deleval,  in  honour  of  Miss  B.  Bond. — 
Squire,  Capt,  Thorne.  —  Device,  a  Heart,  aimed  at  by 


ACCOUNT   OF   THE  MISCHIAXZA.  173 

several  arrows,  and  struck  by  one  ;  Motto,  One  only  pierces 
me. 

4th.  Knight,  Monsieur  Montluissant,  (Lieut,  of  the  Hes 
sian  Chasseurs,)  in  honour  of  Miss  B.  Redman.  —  Squire, 
Capt.  Campbell.  —  Device,  a  Sunflower  turning  towards  the 
Sun  ;  Motto,  Je  vise  a  vous. 

5th.  Knight,  Lieut.  Hobbart,  in  honour  of  Miss  S.  Chew. 
—  Squire,  Lieut.  Briscoe.  —  Device,  Cupid  piercing  a  Coat 
of  Mail  with  his  Arrow  ;  Motto,  Proof  to  all  but  Love. 

6th.  Knight,  Brigade-Major  Tarlton,  in  honour  of  Miss  W. 
Smith.  —  Squire,  Capt.  Heart.  —  Device,  a  Light  Dragoon  ; 
Motto,  Swift,  vigilant,  and  bold. 

After  they  had  rode  round  the  lists,  and  made  their  obei 
sance  to  the  Ladies,  they  drew  up  fronting  the  White  Knights  ; 
and  the  Chief  of  these  having  thrown  down  his  gauntlet,  the 
Chief  of  the  Black  Knights  directed  his  Esquire  to  take  it 
up.  The  Knights  then  received  their  lances  from  their  Es 
quires,  fixed  their  shields  on  their  left  arms,  and  making  a 
general  salute  to  each  other,  by  a  very  graceful  movement 
of  their  lances,  turned  round  to  take  their  career,  and,  encoun 
tering  in  full  gallop,  shivered  their  spears.  In  the  second 
and  third  encounter  they  discharged  their  pistols.  In  the 
fourth  they  fought  with  their  swords.  At  length  the  two 
Chiefs,  spurring  forward  into  the  centre,  engaged  furiously 
in  single  combat,  till  the  Marshal  of  the  Field  (Major 
G-wyne)  rushed  in  between  the  Chiefs,  and  declared  that 
the  Fair  Damsels  of  the  Blended  Rose  and  Burning  Moun 
tain  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  proofs  of  love,  and  the 
signal  feats  of  valour,  given  by  their  respective  Knights  ; 
and  commanded  them,  as  they  prized  the  future  favours 
of  their  Mistresses,  that  they  would  instantly  desist  from 
further  combat.  Obedience  being  paid  by  the  Chiefs  to 
this  order,  they  joined  their  respective  bands.  The  White 
Knights  and  their  attendants  filed  off  to  the  left,  the  Black 
Knights  to  the  right ;  and,  after  passing  each  other  at  the 
lower  side  of  the  quadrangle,  moved  up  alternately,  till  they 


174  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

approached  the  pavilion  of  the  Ladies,  when  they  gave  a  gen 
eral  salute. 

A  passage  being  now  opened  between  the  two  pavilions, 
the  Knights,  preceded  by  their  Squires  and  the  bands  of 
music,  rode  through  the  first  triumphal  arch,  and  arranged 
themselves  to  the  right  and  left.  This  arch  was  erected  in 
honour  of  Lord  Howe.  It  presented  two  fronts,  in  the  Tus 
can  order;  the  pediment  was  adorned  with  various  naval 
trophies,  and  at  the  top  was  the  figure  of  Neptune,  with  a 
trident  in  his  right  hand.  In  a  nich,  on  each  side,  stood 
a  Sailor,  with  a  drawn  cutlass.  Three  Plumes  of  Feathers 
were  placed  on  the  summit  of  each  wing,  and  in  the  entabla 
ture  was  this  inscription :  Laus  illi  debetur,  et  a  me  gratia 
major.  The  interval  between  the  two  arches  was  an  avenue 
three  hundred  feet  long,  and  thirty-four  broad.  It  was  lined 
on  each  side  with  a  file  of  troops ;  and  the  colours  of  all  the 
army,  planted  at  proper  distances,  had  a  beautiful  effect  in 
diversifying  the  scene.  Between  these  colours  the  Knights 
and  Squires  took  their  stations.  The  Bands  continued  to 
play  several  pieces  of  martial  music.  The  Company  moved 
forward  in  procession,  with  the  Ladies  in  the  Turkish  habits 
in  front ;  as  these  passed,  they  were  saluted  by  their  Knights, 
who  then  dismounted  and  joined  them  ;  and  in  this  order 
we  were  all  conducted  into  a  garden  that  fronted  the  house, 
through  the  second  triumphal  arch,  dedicated  to  the  General. 
This  arch  was  also  built  in  the  Tuscan  order.  On  the  in 
terior  part  of  the  pediment  was  painted  a  Plume  of  Feathers, 
and  various  military  trophies.  At  top  stood  the  figure  of 
Fame,  and  in  the  entablature  this  device,  —  I,  bone,  quo  vir 
tus  tua  te  vocet  ;  I pede  fausto.  On  the  right-hand  pillar  was 
placed  a  bomb-shell,  and  on  the  left  a  flaming  heart.  The 
front  next  the  house  was  adorned  with  preparations  for  a 
fire-work.  From  the  garden  we  ascended  a  flight  of  steps, 
covered  with  carpets,  which  led  into  a  spacious  hall ;  the 
panels,  painted  in  imitation  of  Sienna  marble,  enclosing  fes 
toons  of  white  marble :  the  surbase,  and  all  below,  was  black. 


ANDRE'S   ACCOUNT   OF   THE  MISCHIAXZA.  175 

In  this  hall,  and  in  the  adjoining  apartments,  were  prepared 
tea,  lemonade,  and  other  cooling  liquors,  to  which  the  com 
pany  seated  themselves ;  during  which  time  the  Knights 
came  in,  and  on  the  knee  received  their  favours  from  their 
respective  Ladies.  One  of  these  rooms  was  afterwards  ap 
propriated  for  the  use  of  the  Pharaoh  table  :  as  you  entered 
it,  you  saw,  on  a  pannel  over  the  chimney,  a  Cornucopia,  ex 
uberantly  filled  with  flowers  of  the  richest  colours  ;  over  the 
door,  as  you  went  out,  another  presented  itself,  shrunk,  re 
versed,  and  emptied. 

From  these  apartments  we  were  conducted  up  to  a  ball 
room,  decorated  in  a  light,  elegant  stile  of  painting.  The 
ground  was  a  pale  blue,  pannelled  with  a  small  gold  bead, 
and  in  the  interior  filled  with  dropping  festoons  of  flowers  in 
their  natural  colours.  Below  the  surbase  the  ground  was  of 
rose-pink,  with  drapery  festooned  in  blue.  These  decora 
tions  were  heightened  by  eighty-five  mirrours,  decked  with 
rose-pink  silk  ribbands,  and  artificial  flowers  ;  and  in  the 
intermediate  spaces  were  thirty-four  branches  with  wax- 
lights,  ornamented  in  a  similar  manner. 

On  the  same  floor  were  four  drawing-rooms,  with  side 
boards  of  refreshments,  decorated  and  lighted  in  the  same 
stile  and  taste  as  the  ball-room.  The  ball  was  opened  by 
the  Knights  and  their  Ladies ;  and  the  dances  continued  till 
ten  o'clock,  when  the  windows  were  thrown  open,  and  a  mag 
nificent  bouquet  of  rockets  began  the  fireworks.  These  were 
planned  by  Capt.  Montresor,  the  Chief  Engineer,  and  con 
sisted  of  twenty  different  exhibitions,  displayed  under  his 
direction  with  the  happiest  success,  and  in  the  highest  stile 
of  beauty.  Towards  the  conclusion,  the  interior  part  of  the 
triumphal  arch  was  illuminated  amidst  an  uninterrupted  flight 
of  rockets  and  bursting  of  baloons.  The  military  trophies  on 
each  side  assumed  a  variety  of  transparent  colours.  The 
shell  and  flaming  heart  on  the  wings  sent  forth  Chinese  foun 
tains,  succeeded  by  fireworks.  Fame  appeared  at  top,  span 
gled  with  stars,  and  from  her  trumpet  blowing  the  following 


176  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDK£. 

device  in  letters  of  light,  Tes  Lauriers  sont  immortels.  —  A 
sauteur  of  Rockets,  bursting  from  the  pediment,  concluded 
the  feu  d'artifice. 

At  twelve,  supper  was  announced,  and  large  folding  doors, 
hitherto  artfully  concealed,  being  suddenly  thrown  open,  dis 
covered  a  magnificent  saloon  of  two  hundred  and  ten  feet 
by  forty,  and  twenty-two  in  height,  with  three  alcoves  on 
each  side,  which  served  for  side-boards.  The  ceiling  was 
the  segment  of  a  circle,  and  the  sides  xvere  painted  of  a  light 
straw-colour,  with  vine-leaves  and  festoon-flowers,  some  in  a 
bright,  some  in  a  darkish  green.  Fifty-six  large  pier-glasses, 
ornamented  with  green  silk  artificial  flowers  and  ribbands  ;  a 
hundred  branches  with  three  lights  in  each,  trimmed  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  mirrours ;  eighteen  lustres,  each  with 
twenty-four  lights,  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and  orna 
mented  as  the  branches  ;  three  hundred  wax-tapers,  disposed 
along  the  supper  tables  ;  four  hundred  and  thirty  covers ; 
twelve  hundred  dishes  ;  twenty-four  black  slaves,  in  oriental 
dresses,  with  silver  collars  and  bracelets,  ranged  in  two  lines 
and  bending  to  the  ground  as  the  General  and  Admiral  ap 
proached  the  saloon  :  all  these,  forming  together  the  most 
brilliant  assemblage  of  gay  objects,  and  appearing  at  once 
as  wre  entered  by  an  easy  ascent,  exhibited  a  coup  d'oeil  be 
yond  description  magnificent. 

Towards  the  end  of  supper,  the  Herald  of  the  Blended 
Rose,  in  his  habit  of  ceremony,  attended  by  his  trumpeters, 
entered  the  saloon,  and  proclaimed  the  King's  health,  the 
Queen  and  Royal  Family,  the  Army  and  Navy,  with  their 
respective  Commanders,  the  Knights  and  their  Ladies,  the 
Ladies  in  general ;  each  of  these  toasts  was  followed  by  a 
flourish  of  music.  After  supper  we  returned  to  the  ball 
room,  and  continued  to  dance  till  four  o'clock. 

Such,  my  dear  friend,  is  the  description,  though  a  very 
faint  one,  of  the  most  splendid  entertainment,  I  believe,  ever 
given  by  an  army  to  their  General.  But  what  must  be  most 
grateful  to  Sir  W.  Howe  is  the  spirit  and  motives  from 


VERSES    COMPOSED    BY    ANDRE.  177 

which  it  was  given.  He  goes  from  this  place  to-morrow ; 
but,  as  I  understand  he  means  to  stay  a  day  or  two  with 
his  brother  on  board  the  Eagle  at  Billingsport,  I  shall  not 
seal  this  letter  till  I  see  him  depart  from  Philadelphia. 

Sunday,  24th.  I  am  just  returned  from  conducting  our 
beloved  General  to  the  water-side,  and  have  seen  him  re 
ceive  a  more  flattering  testimony  of  the  love  and  attachment 
of  his  army,  than  all  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  the  Mischi- 
anza  could  convey  to  him.  I  have  seen  the  most  gallant  of 
our  officers,  and  those  whom  I  least  suspected  of  giving  such 
instances  of  their  affection,  shed  tears  while  they  bid  him 
farewel.  The  gallant  and  affectionate  General  of  the  Hes 
sians,  Knyphausen,  was  so  moved,  that  he  could  not  finish  a 
compliment  he  began  to  pay  him  in  his  own  name,  and  that 
of  his  Officers  who  attended  him.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  at 
tended  him  to  the  wharf,  where  Lord  Howe  received  him  into 
his  barge,  and  they  are  both  gone  down  to  Billingsport.  On 
my  return,  I  saw  nothing  but  dejected  countenances. 

Adieu,  &c.* 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  attributing  to  Andre  two  forms  of 
a  poetical  address,  designed  to  be  spoken  on  the  occasion  in 
honor  of  Howe,  but  which  Sir  William,  however  gratified, 
wisely  forbade.  The  first  seems  intended  for  recitation  by  a 
celestial  guest. 

Down  from  the  starry  threshold  of  Jove's  court 
A  messenger  I  come,  to  grace  your  sport ; 
And  at  your  feet  th'  immortal  wreath  I  lay, 
From  chiefs  of  old  renown,  who  bid  me  say, 
Like  you,  they  once  aspir'd  to  please  the  fair, 
With  all  the  sportive  images  of  war. 

*  This  letter  is  printed  from  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Aug.  1778,  col 
lated  with  the  version  of  The  Lady's  Magazine,  1793.  It  may  have  been 
addressed  to  Mr.  Ewer;  but  more  probably  to  Miss  Seward,  to  whose  liter 
ary  connection  both  with  Andre"  and  The  Lady's  Magazine  I  am  inclined 
to  attribute  the  insertion  of  various  scraps  of  military  intelligence  from 
America,  some  of  which  bear  marks  of  sources  of  information  not  always 
open. 

12 


178  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Round  Arthur's  board,  when  chivalry  was  young, 

In  justs  and  tilts  their  manly  nerves  they  strung: 

Scorning  to  waste  the  intervals  of  peace 

In  sordid  riot,  or  inglorious  ease. 

Martial  and  bold  their  exercises  were ; 

Though  Gothic,  grand;  though  festive,  yet  severe: 

Design'd  to  fire  the  breast  to  deeds  of  worth 

And  call  th'  impatient  soul  of  glory  forth. 

Thus  train' d  to  virtue,  when  the  trumpet's  sound, 

Aiad  red  cross  streaming,  led  to  holy  ground ; 

Or  violated  rights,  and  Freedom's  call, 

Bade  them  chastise  the  perfidy  of  Gaul ; 

Each  lover,  mindful  of  his  plighted  vow 

A  hero  rose,  inflam'd  with  patriot  glow. 

The  cause  of  beauty  his  peculiar  care; 

His  motto  still  —  "  The  brave  deserve  the  fair." 

Air,  in  Artaxerxes. 

"  The  soldier,  tir'd  of  war's  alarms, 
Exults  to  feast  on  beauty's  charms, 

And  drops  the  spear  and  shield : 
But  if  the  brazen  trumpet  sound 
He  burns  with  conquest  to  be  crown' d, 

And  dares  again  the  field." 

Oh !  be  th'  example  copied  in  each  heart ; 
Let  modern  Britons  act  the  ancient  part; 
And  you,  great  Sir,  these  parting  rites  receive 
Which,  bath'd  in  tears,  your  hardy  veterans  give; 
Veterans  approv'd,  who  never  knew  to  yield 
When  Howe  and  Glory  led  them  to  the  field. 
To  other  scenes  your  country's  sacred  cause 
Now  calls  you  hence,  the  champion  of  her  laws. 
Your  Veterans,  to  your  brave  successor  true, 
By  honouring  him,  will  seek  to  honour  you. 

And  ye,  bright  nymphs,  who  grace  this  hallow' d  ground, 
In  all  the  blooming  pride  of  beauty  crown'd, 
Still  strive  to  sooth  the  hero's  generous  toils, 
With  what  he  deems  his  best  reward,  your  smiles. 

The  other,  a  little  less  flattering  in  tone,  is  accompanied 
by  stage-directions.  It  contains  also  a  provident  compliment 
to  the  rising  sun. 


VERSES   COMPOSED    BY  ANDRE.  179 


ADDRESS 

INTENDED  TO  HAVE  BEEN  SPOKEN  AT  THE  MISCHIANZA,  BY  A  HERALD 
HOLDING  IN  HIS  HAND  A  LAUREL-WREATH  WITH  THE  FOLLOWING 
INSCRIPTION: 

Mars,  conquest-plum'd,  the  Cyprian  Queen  disarms; 
And  Victors,  vanquish'd,  yield  to  Beauty's  Charms. 

After  hanging  the  Wreath  on  the  Front  of  the  Pavilion,  he  was  to  have  pro 
ceeded  thus : 

Here  then  the  laurel,  here  the  palm  -we  yield, 

And  all  the  trophies  of  the  tilted  field ; 

Here  Whites  and  Blacks,"*  with  blended  homage,  pay 

To  each  Device  the  honours  of  the  day. 

Hard  were  the  task,  and  impious  to  decide 

Where  all  are  fairest,  which  the  fairer  side. 

Enough  for  us,  if  by  such  sports  we  strove 

To  grace  this  feast  of  military  love ; 

And,  joining  in  the  wish  of  every  heart, 

Honour'd  the  friend  and  leader  ere  we  part. 

When  great  in  arms  our  brave  forefathers  rose, 

And  loos'd  the  British  Lion  on  his  foes; 

When  the  fall'n  Gauls,  then  perjur'd  too  and  base, 

The  faithless  fathers  of  a  faithless  race, 

First  to  attack,  tho'  still  the  first  to  yield, 

Shrunk  from  their  rage  on  Poictiers  laurel'd  field; 

Oft,  while  grim  War  suspended  his  alarms, 

The  gallant  bands,  with  mimic  deeds  of  arms, 

Thus  to  some  favourite  chief  the  feast  decreed, 

And  deck'd  the  tilting  Knight,  th'  encountering  steed: 

In  manly  sports  that  serv'd  but  to  inspire 

Contempt  of  death,  and  feed  the  martial  fire, 

The  lists  beheld  them  celebrate  his  name 

Who  led  their  steps  to  victory  and  fame. 

Thro'  every  rank  the  martial  ardor  ran ; 

All  fear'd  the  chieftain,  but  all  lov'd  the  man: 

And,  fired  with  the  soul  of  this  bright  day, 

Pay'd  to  a  Salisbury  what  to  Howe  we  pay. 

Shame  to  the  envious  slave  that  dares  bemoan 

Their  sons  degenerate,  or  their  spirit  flown ;  — 

Let  maddening  Faction  drive  this  guilty  land, 

With  her  worst  foes  to  form  th'  unnatural  band : 

In  yon,  brave  crowd,  old  British  courage  glows 

Unconquer'd,  growing  as  the  danger  grows. 

*  The  Knights  so  distinguished. 


180  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

With  hearts  as  bold  as  e'er  their  fathers  bore 

Their  country  they'll  avenge,  her  fame  restore. 

Rouz'd  to  the  charge,  methinks  I  hear  them  cry, 

Revenge  and  glory  sparkling  from  each  eye,  — 

"  Chaiu'd  to  our  arms  while  Howe  the  battle  led, 

"  Still  round  these  files  her  wings  shall  Conquest  spread. 

"  Lov'd  tho'  he  goes,  the  spirit  still  remains 

"  That  with  him  bore  us  o'er  these  trembling  plains. 

"  On  Hudson's  banks  *  the  sure  presage  we  read 

"  Of  other  triumphs  to  our  arms  decreed : 

"  Nor  fear  but  equal  honours  shall  repay 

"Each  hardy  deed  where  Clinton  leads  the  way!  " 

It  need  not  be  thought  however,  that  honors  such  as 
Rome  might  have  rendered  to  a  conqueror  were  now  paid 
without  criticism  to  a  general  who  had  made  no  conquests. 
McLane  took  the  occasion  to  beat  up  the  lines  so  thoroughly 
that  he  was  pursued  to  the  Wissahiccon  Hills ;  but  the  pro 
moters  of  the  gala  kept  their  fair  guests  tranquil.  Others 
whose  forte  was  the  pen  rather  than  the  sword,  were  not  so 
soon  silenced.  Galloway  was  never  weary  of  the  theme. 

— "  We  had  seen  the  same  General,  with  a  vanity  and 
presumption  unparalleled  in  history,  after  this  indolence, 
after  all  these  wretched  blunders,  accept  from  a  few  of  his 
officers  a  triumph  more  magnificent  than  would  have  become 
the  conqueror  of  America,  without  the  consent  of  his  sover 
eign  or  approbation  of  his  country,  and  that  at  a  time  when 
the  news  of  war  with  France  had  just  arrived,  and  in  the 
very  city,  the  capital  of  North  America,  the  late  seat  of  Con 
gress,  which  in  a  few  days  was  to  be  delivered  up  to  that 
Congress."  f 

*  "  The  North-river  expedition  from  New  York,  last  autumn." 
f  —  Galloway's  Reply,  &c.  See  also  Towne's  Confession  (written  by 
Dr.  Witherspoon),  Philadelphia,  1783;  and  Strictures  on  the  Philadelphia 
Mischianza,  or  Triumph  upon  leaving  America  unconquered  (London 
printed,  Philadelphia  reprinted,  1783):  that  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  to 
Galloway.  This  tract  ascribes  the  fete  to  Sir  William's  flatterers,  "  pro 
moted  by  his  favour,  or  possibly  enriched  by  his  connivance." — "He 
bounced  off  with  his  bombs  and  burning  hearts  set  upon  the  pillars  of  his 
triumphal  arch,  which,  at  the  proper  time  of  the  show,  burst  out  in  a 
shower  of  squibs  and  crackers  and  other  fireworks,  to  the  delectable 


THE  MISCHIA^ZA.  181 

Colonel  Johnston,  who  married  Miss  Franks,  had  his 
quarters  in  the  house  of  Edward  Penington,  a  leading 
Friend,  at  the  corner  of  Crown  and  Race  streets.  It  was 
thus  the  headquarters  of  the  28th,  and  was  also  the  resort  of 
a  number  of  grave  elderly  officers  who,  like  the  better  class 
of  tories,  had  a  high  opinion  of  Washington.  When  the 
Mischianza  was  in  every  one's  mouth,  a  young  person  of  the 
family  asked  of  an  old  major  of  artillery  what  was  the  dis 
tinction  between  the  Knights  of  the  Mountain  and  the  Rose. 
—  "Why,  child,"  quoth  he,  "the  Knights  of  the  Burning 
Mountain  are  torn-fools,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Blended 
Rose  are  damned  fools  —  I  know  of  no  other  difference  be 
tween  them."  Then,  placing  a  hand  on  either  knee,  he  ad 
ded  in  a  tone  of  unsuppressed  mortification  —  "  What  will 
Washington  think  of  all  this  !  " 

amazement  of  Miss  Craig,  Miss  Chew,  Miss  Kedman,  and  all  the  other 
Misses,  dressed  out  as  the  fair  damsels  of  the  Blended  Rose  and  of  the 
Burning  Mountain  for  this  farce  at  Knight-errantry." 


CHAPTER   X. 

Evacuation  of  Philadelphia.  —  Battle  of  Monmouth.  —  D'Estaing's  Arrival. 
—  Andre  accompanies  Grey  against  New  Bedford.  —  His  Satirical  Verses 
on  the  Investment  of  Newport.  —  Aide  to  Clinton.  —  Character  of  this 
General.  —  Andre's  Verses  upon  an  American  Duel. 

THE  instructions  under  which  Clinton  was  to  take  com 
mand  had  involved  an  early  and  vigorous  campaign,  and 
preparations  at  Philadelphia  were  made  accordingly.  On 
the  23d  of  May,  however,  the  orders  of  March  21st  were 
received,  which,  in  consideration  of  the  hostile  intervention 
of  France,  looked  to  a  retreat  to  New  York  and  large  de 
tachments  thence  to  the  West  Indies.*  A  council  of  war 
was  held,  and  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  provided  for. 
The  immense  military  stores,  together  with  3000  of  the  civil 
population  who  feared  to  meet  the  wrath  of  the  incoming 
Americans,  were  to  be  sent  in  the  fleet;  the  troops,  with 
their  provision-trains,  &c.,  for  lack  of  room  on  board,  were 
to  march  by  land.  All  were  busied  with  preparations  for 
removal.  Knyphausen  bade  farewell  to  the  pleasant  quar 
ters  in  2nd  Street,  where  he  should  no  more  spread  butter  on 
his  bread  with  his  thumb.  Andre's  lodgings  were  at  the 
house  of  Dr.  Franklin,  a  full  description  of  which,  with  all 
its  furniture  down  to  the  pictures  of  the  king  and  queen  and 
of  the  Earl  of  Bute,  "  in  the  room  for  our  friends,"  is  given 
by  Mrs.  Franklin  to  her  husband,  in  17G5.  His  daughter, 

*  "  The  first  orders  Sir  H.  Clinton  had  were  to  bring  Washington  to  ac 
tion,  to  detach  an  expedition  against  seaports,  &c.,  when  the  promised  re 
inforcements  should  arrive  (12000  recruits)  to  complete  his  army  On  the 
interference  of  the  [French?]  near  12000,  instead  of  sent,  were  taken  from 
Sir  H.  C.  He  was  ordered  to  embark  the  arm}'  and  proceed  to  New  York, 
where  the  commissioners  were  to  open  communication,  and  then  to  detach 
to  W.  Indies,  &c."—  Clinton  MS. 


EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  183 

Mrs.  Bache,  had  abandoned  the  place  on  Howe's  approach. 
On  her  return  she  complained  of  some  spoliations  though 
not  so  great  as  she  had  expected  "  from  the  hands  of  such  a 
rapacious  crew."  "  A  Captain  Andre  also  took  with  him  the 
picture  of  you,  which  hung  in  the  dining-room."  One  might 
almost  fancy  Andre  rummaging  the  bales  of  dead  letters 
that,  while  Franklin  was  at  the  head  of  the  American  post- 
office,  were  piled  away  in  the  garrets  of  this  house.* 

Before  passing  from  Philadelphia,  mention  may  be  made 
of  another  ghost  story,  about  as  well  authenticated  as  such 
stories  usually  are,  in  which  Andre  and  his  fate  were  again 
prefigured.  The  Springettsbury  Manor-house,  in  the  pres 
ent  neighborhood  of  20th  and  Spring-garden  Streets,  was 
then  a  favorite  resort  for  rural  entertainments.  Though 
long  disused  by  the  Penns,  its  proprietors,  the  house  and 
grounds  were  kept  up,  and  officers  were  accustomed  to  pro 
vide  dinner-parties  there.  Two  ladies  of  the  family  of  my 
informant,  who  had  known  Andre,  were  on  their  way  hither, 
to  dine  with  Washington  and  some  other  American  officers, 
where  Andre  and  his  comrades  had  often  feasted  before. 
As  they  passed  through  the  groves  of  cedars  and  catalpas 
that  surrounded  the  mansion,  they  perceived  simultaneously 
a  corpse  dangling  from  a  limb,  clad  as  a  British  officer, 
which  presently,  as  they  drew  nearer,  swung  around  as 
though  by  a  natural  torsion  of  the  rope.  The  face  then  was 
visible,  calm,  and  stiff,  as  in  death;  but  they  immediately 
recognized  it  as  Captain  Andre's.  On  approaching  the  spot 
the  illusion  vanished.  At  dinner  they  did  not  conceal  their 
adventure,  but  related  it  with  a  faith  that  provoked  the  polite 

*  In  some  severe  strictures  on  his  character  published  after  his  death,  it 
was  positively  alleged  that  Andre  took  away  with  him  from  the  Library 
Company  of  Philadelpeia  a  copv  of  the  Encyclopedic,  which  had  been  pre 
sented  by  Dr.  Franklin.  Franklin's  benefactions  to  this  institution  were 
not  numerous,  and  it  is  easy  to  discover  that  no  such  work  was  among 
them,  and  that  there  is  no  earthly  cause  to  believe  that  Andre*  was  guilty 
of  any  peccadillo  of  the  nature  imputed  to  him.  Certainly  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  one  acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  the  Library  ever  enter- 
tamed  such  a  thought. 


184  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

ridicule  of  Washington  to  the  extent  at  last  of  hearty  laugh 
ter  at  their  credulity  :  a  circumstance  especially  remarked 
by  one  of  them,  who  never  previously  had  seen  him  laugh. 
Many  years  later,  when  he  was  President,  this  lady  again 
dined  with  Washington  at  Philadelphia ;  and  took  occasion, 
she  says,  to  remind  him  of  his  mirth.  He  was  much  dis 
turbed,  she  said,  and  bade  her  never  to  refer  the  subject 
to  him  more ;  that  it  was  a  matter  he  would  not  recur  to, 
since  it  had  already  greatly  troubled  and  perplexed  him. 
The  narrator  of  this  tale,  it  may  be  added,  was  a  lady  of 
distinguished  mental  endowments,  well  versed  even  in  He 
brew  and  Greek  studies ;  while  her  comrade  was  daughter 
and  sister  of  two  of  the  first  medical  men  of  their  day.  It 
was  hardly  through  ignorance  therefore  that  they  could  have 
fallen  into  their  delusion. 

Meanwhile  Andre  in  the  flesh  was  busily  employed.  "  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  made  no  secret  of  his  intention  of  quitting 
Philadelphia ; "  *  but  at  Valley  Forge  it  was  not  for  some 
time  known  whither  his  course  would  be  directed.  The 
commissioners,  arriving  on  the  6th  of  June,  1778,  found  him 
almost  ready  to  move.  A  great  number  of  baggage-wagons 
were  gathered  at  Cooper's  Point,  on  the  Jersey  shore  of  the 
Delaware  ;  and  most  of  the  artillery  and  stores,  with  several 
regiments,  were  passed  over  that  river  and  secured  by  tem 
porary  works.  On  the  night  of  June  17th,  the  lines  were 
manned  as  usual,  and  the  troops  led  out  of  quarters  and  biv 
ouacked  on  the  ground  beyond  the  built-up  parts  of  the  town. 
This  was  to  guard  against  the  plunder  or  incendiarism  of  a 
retreating  army,  and  to  avert  from  Philadelphia  the  calamity 
which  there  is  too  much  reason  to  suppose  was  unauthorisedly 
inflicted  in  1776,  by  some  of  our  troops,  as  they  evacuated 
New  York.  At  three  A.  M.,  on  the  19th,  the  army  marched 
across  the  commons  and  crossed  at  Gloucester  Point,  three 
miles  below  the  centre  of  the  city.  By  ten  A.  M.  the  rear 
guard  came  over,  and  the  march  for  New  York  began.  Lord 

*  Clinton  MS. 


EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  185 

Howe  supervised  the  water-carriage,  and  was  the  last  man  to 
embark.  The  chief  of  the  fleet  had  already  dropped  down  to 
Reedy  Island ;  and  a  few  of  the  most  important  of  the  loy 
alists,  who  had  lingered  to  the  last  moment  in  the  places  that 
were  to  know  them  no  more,  now  dejectedly  sailed  after  it. 
u  When  we  left  Philadelphia,"  wrote  one  of  these,  "  the  night 
of  the  17th  of  June,  the  finest  night  I  ever  saw,  was  obscured 
by  the  most  melancholy  reflections  I  ever  felt."  They  were 
two  days  and  two  nights  to  Reedy  Island,  and  thirteen  days 
to  the  Capes.  The  weather  was  hot  and  calm  ;  and  visiting 
about  was  kept  up  among  the  ships.  "  How  melancholy  was 
the  idea  that  the  lleet  might  be  compared  to  a  town  peopled 
by  our  friends !  Alas,  it  was  a  town  founded  by  misfortune, 
and  inhabitants  connected  by  similarity  of  misery."  The 
bulk  of  the  tories,  however,  went  with  the  army:  —  "and 
took  their  baggage  with  them,  which  was  a  great  incum- 
brance  during  the  march."* 

Many  of  the  soldiers,  especially  of  those  who  had  married 
in  town,  hid  themselves  in  cellars  and  such  places  and  re 
mained  behind,  and  the  deserters  ere  Clinton  reached  New 
York  were  estimated  at  1000 ;  but  perhaps  the  last  man  to 
quit  Philadelphia  was  Lord  Cosmo  Gordon.  He  slept  at  his 
quarters  all  night  and  so  late  the  next  day,  that  the  family 
out  of  kindness  at  length  awakened  him,  the  news  of  **  his 
friends  the  rebels "  being  in  town.  It  was  as  much  as  he 
could  do  to  slip  to  the  waterside  and  find  a  skiff  to  carry 
himself  and  his  servant  over.  Two  hours  after  the  rear 
guard  was  gone,  the  American  dragoons  galloped  through 
the  streets. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  cleverly  managed  than 
the  evacuation.  So  silently  was  it  conducted,  that  many  of 
the  inhabitants  knew  of  it  only  when  they  went  about  in 
the  morning,  and  found  not  a  British  regiment  remaining. 
"They  did  not  go  away;  they  vanished."  But  the  real 
difficulties  of  the  retreat  were  only  begun.  Clinton  did  not 

*  Clinton  MS. 


186  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

calculate  to  forage  on  his  journey,  and  the  quantities  of  stores 
and  baggage  that  the  transports  could  not  receive  or  his 
troops  could  not  dispense  with,  formed  a  line  of  march  twelve 
miles  long.  He  anticipated  an  attack,  and  as  he  sat  on  a 
rock  and  reviewed  the  prolonged  train,  lie  was  half-inclined 
to  destroy  all  his  incumbrances  on  the  spot.  But  this,  he 
thought,  would  be  made  too  great  a  handle  for  triumph  to  his 
enemies  ;  so  he  manfully  resolved  to  confide  the  issue  to  the 
swords  of  his  followers  and  his  own  skill.  His  retreat,  neces 
sarily  slow,  was  perfectly  deliberate  and  nothing  resembling 
flight.  The  first  day's  march  was  but  five  miles  ;  and  though 
it  would  seem  as  clear  that  his  object  must  have  been  an  unin  • 
terrupted  passage  as  that  ours  was  to  fall  on  his  cumbered  and 
attenuated  line,  the  Englishman,  by  our  best  American  judg 
ment,  rather  invited  a  general  action.  He  does  not  himself 
discountenance  this  idea.  "  Perhaps  Washington  was  not 
quite  mistaken,"  says  he.  "  Perhaps  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was 
as  desirous  of  bringing  it  to  one  decisive  stroke,  as  Washing 
ton  seemed  desirous  of  avoiding  it."*  He  likewise  kept  his 
own  counsel,  and  not  until  June  24th  was  it  known,  even  to 
his  officers,  what  was  his  purposed  route  or  destination. 

During  May  and  June  our  army  at  Valley  Forge  had 
been  constantly  exercising  and  preparing  for  combat  on  a 
moment's  warning.  On  the  22nd  of  June  it  crossed  at  Cory- 
ell's  Ferry  to  the  same  side  of  the  Delaware  with  Clinton. 
It  was  stripped  of  all  ineffective  and  heavy  baggage,  and  put 
into  trim  fighting  condition,  and  the  arms  were  carefully 
cleaned  and  inspected.  On  the  24th,  two  day's  provision 
was  cooked  ;  and  on  the  27tli,  the  troops  were  ordered  to  be 
provisioned  till  the  29th,  inclusive,  and  to  be  kept  compact 
and  ready  to  move  at  the  shortest  notice.  Other  precautions 
were  taken:  —  "  The  drums  to  beat  on  the  march.  When 
the  rear  is  to  come  up,  a  common  march ;  to  quicken  the 
march,  a  grenadier's  march.  These  signals  to  begin  in  the 
rear  under  the  direction  of  the  brigadier  of  the  day,  and  are 

*  Clinton  MS. 


MOKMOUTH.  187 

to  be  repeated  by  the  orderly  drum  of  every  battalion  from 
rear  to  front.  An  orderly  drum  to  be  kept  ready  braced 
with  each  battalion  for  this  purpose.  When  the  whole  line 
is  to  halt  for  refreshment,  the  first  part  of  the  General  will 
beat,  and  this  to  be  repeated  by  every  orderly  drum  down 
to  the  rear."  * 

These  signals  were  very  necessary;  but  it  was  impossible 
that  in  a  few  hours  a  whole  army  should  be  taught  to  regu 
late  its  conduct  by  the  rattle  of  a  bit  of  sheepskin,  and  it  was 
a  just  complaint  on  the  28th  that  our  regiments  had  no  dis 
tinguishing  uniforms  or  standards,  and  were  deficient  in  in 
struments  proper  to  sound  a  retreat,  a  halt,  a  march  or  a 
charge. 

Though  the  advice  of  his  council  was  against  a  general 
action,  Washington  was  now  prompted  by  his  own  inclina 
tions  and  the  circumstances  of  the  case  to  steps  that  rendered 
an  engagement  almost  unavoidable.  On  the  27th  June,  with 
our  advance  under  La  Fayette  at  but  five  miles  distance,  Clin 
ton  foresaw  the  coming  conflict.  Encamped  in  a  strong  posi 
tion  he  passed  a  quiet  night,  and  by  five  o'clock  of  the  next 
morning  Knyphausen  was  on  his  march  with  all  the  baggage 
and  a  large  part  of  the  troops,  including  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland  Loyalists,  and  most  of  the  Hessians.  That 
the  march  should  have  been  so  dangerously  cumbered  was, 
it  would  appear,  entirely  due  to  Clinton's  military  pride.  He 
himself  confesses  the  error  of  thus  overloading  the  legitimate 
operations  of  his  men  :  —  "  Sir  H.  Clinton  was  certainly  to 
blame  for  permitting  it.  The  reason  was  explained  above. 
He  lost  not  a  cart,  however."  f 

The  position  of  our  people  was  well  weighed  by  the  royal 
general.  Morgan  hung  over  his  right  and  Dickinson  over 
his  left ;  while  the  advance  of  our  main  army  was  at  Eng- 
lishtown,  less  in  the  rear  than  on  the  left  of  his  abode  on  the 
the  night  of  the  27th,  with  the  remainder  of  our  people  not 
far  behind.  Years  of  reflection  served  only  to  confirm  Clin- 

*  MS.  Am.  0.  B.  June  27, 1778.  t  Clinton  MS. 


188  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

ton  in  his  original  opinion  that  the  real  aim  of  the  Americans 
was  against  his  baggage.  — "  Washington,  so  little  desirous 
does  he  seem  to  have  been  of  risking  a  general  action, 
had  passed  the  South  river  and  put  three  or  four  of  its 
marshy  boggy  branches  between  his  army  and  that  of  the 
British."  * 

It  is  not  proposed  here  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the 
battle  of  Monmouth.  Its  story  has  been  often  and  well  told, 
and  the  circumstances  that  lend  it  a  peculiar  interest  as  lib 
erally  canvassed.  In  common  justice,  however,  to  the  rep 
utation  of  the  turbulent  and  irregular  Lee,  whose  presiige 
was  on  this  day  so  fatally  damaged,  I  must  acknowledge  that 
his  conduct  before  the  enemy  seems  to  me  to  have  been  un 
worthy  of  the  censure  it  received. 

The  flower  of  the  king's  soldiery,  it  will  be  recollected, 
rested  with  their  general  on  the  place  of  their  encampment 
till  the  day  was  well  advanced,  and  Knyphausen  fairly  under 
way.  In  such  a  well-chosen  situation,  with  various  natural 
defences  or  impediments  intervening  between  himself  and  our 
men,  it  was  entirely  impossible,  Sir  Henry  thought,  for  the 
Americans  to  gain  any  advantage  while  he  held  the  position : 
for  it  was  difficult  for  them  to  traverse  at  all  the  bad  ground 
to  reach  him  ;  and  the  ranks  would  necessarily  fall  into  such 
disorder  in  the  passage  as  to  easily  be  cut  down  as  fast  as 
they  appeared.  Not  far  away  were  the  Middletown  Hills, 
where  he  would  certainly  be  secure  ;  and  it  was  evident, 
therefore,  he  must  be  attacked  now  or  never.  His  own  idea 
was  that  we  aimed  at  his  baggage  ;  and  accordingly  he  per 
haps  resolved  to  give  us  such  a  handling  here  as  would  pre 
vent  any  large  bodies  being  thrown  forward  on  his  flanks. 
It  is  difficult  to  get  at  the  precise  numbers  of  either  army. 
Sir  Henry  loosely  estimated  his  opponents  at  near  20,000. 
Washington's  own  force  certainly  amounted  to  10,684  effec 
tive  rank  and  file,  exclusive  of  Maxwell's  brigade  and  per 
haps  of  Morgan's  regiment  of  600  men,  and  Cadwalader's 

*  Clinton  MS. 


BATTLE  OF  MOXMOUTH.  189 

400  continentals  and  100  volunteers.  If  these,  and  Dicken- 
son's  1000  Jersey  militia,  who  hung  on  the  enemy's  line,  are 
to  be  added,  it  would  swell  the  total  directed  against  him  to 
13,000  or  14,000  men.  The  British  were  less,  says  Mar 
shall,  than  10,000  ;  and  if  we  allow  for  the  desertions,  &c. 
that  he  claims,  we  may  put  them  at  about  9,600.  A  large 
part  of  these  were  started  with  the  baggage  under  Knyphau- 
sen  at  daybreak  :  with  Cornwallis  and  the  balance,  at  least 
5000  or  6000  of  the  elite  of  the  army,  Clinton  himself  re 
mained  until  8  A.  M. 

Of  the  battle  fought  on  Sunday,  June  28th,  1778,  I  shall 
have  but  little  to  say.  The  circumstances  of  the  case  appear 
to  be  as  follows.  Between  the  two  opposing  armies  stretched 
some  very  dangerous  ground.  Lee's  advance,  embarrassed 
by  this  and  by  the  powerful  front  presented  by  the  retiring 
enemy,  quickly  fell  back,  pursued  in  their  own  turn.  Lee 
vindicates  this  policy  in  the  declaration  that  the  more  exten 
sively  he  was  followed,  the  better  for  our  cause  it  would  have 
been :  for  as  our  main  army  came  up,  it  would  find  a  com 
paratively  fruitful  victory  in  every  English  regiment  that  had 
put  the  morasses  referred  to  between  itself  and  the  remainder 
of  Clinton's  troops.  The  interruption  of  this  plan  by  Wash 
ington,  and  the  resumption  of  the  attack  ere  yet  the  enemy 
were  fairly  launched  from  their  stronghold,  he  seems  to  have 
considered  capital  errors ;  and  it  is  certainly  plain  that  our 
whole  force  through  the  whole  day  effected  nothing  much 
beyond  what  Lee  might  have  done,  nor  succeeded  in  driving 
Clinton  a  rood's  distance  from  the  place  he  held  when  the 
fray  begun.  Sir  Henry's  own  story,  too,  is  in  perfect  con 
currence  with  Lee's :  — 

"  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  been  ordered  to  embark  the  army 
at  Philadelphia,  and  proceed  to  New  York.  For  various 
reasons  he  ventured  to  disobey  the  King's  commands,  and  by 
that  disobedience  saved  both  army  and  navy.  The  principle 
of  the  British  army  was  retreat  at  this  period.  Washing 
ton's  avant  guarde  passes  to  marshy  boggy  branches  at  single 


190  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDR£. 

bridges  and  attacks  the  British  rearguard  ;  probably  with  nc 
other  intent  than  to  amuse  while  another  corps  attempted  the 
baggage.  The  British  rearguard  forces  Lee  back  over  al: 
these  branches  beyond  the  Lake.  Lee  is  met  by  \Yashing- 
ton  arriving  in  column  from  Englishtown.  Here  of  course 
the  business  would  have  finished  ;  but  the  ungovernable  im 
petuosity  of  the  light  troops  had  drawn  them  over  the  morass 
and  till  they  returned  it  became  necessary  to  mask  the  4tl 
ravine  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  passing  it  and  cutting  [off" 
the  above  corps  ;  and  the  1st  Guards  and  33rd  regiment, 
under  Col.  Meadows  and  Webster,  maintained  the  ground 
exposed  to  a  crossfire,  and  with  severe  loss,  till  the  light 
troops  had  retired  over  the  bog  in  safety.  .  .  .  The  great 
Frederick,  on  hearing  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  account  of  this 
action  and  Lee's  defence  at  his  trial,  said  that  when  two 
opposite  gentlemen  agree  in  describing  the  ground  and  event; 
of  the  day,  they  must  both  be  right."  * 

The  heat  was  in  the  last  degree  oppressive.  Men  fell 
dead  in  the  ranks  without  a  wound  ;  and  the  panting  Hes 
sians  swore  that  in  such  an  atmosphere  they  would  fight  no 
longer.  Night  at  last  brought  relief.  At  10  P.  M.  Clinton 
arrayed  his  weary  bands,  and  led  them  to  where  Knyphausen 
was  halted,  three  miles  away  in  the  Nut  Swamp.  The 
moon  setting  on  that  night  at  10.55  p.  M.,  barely  sufficed 
to  light  his  path.  Our  army,  we  are  told,  was  unaware  of 
the  march  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  it  had  little  desire  of  re 
newing  a  contest  in  which,  it  is  pretty  clear,  it  had  as  yet 
gained  no  solid  advantage.  For  whether  the  end  was  to  kill 
or  capture  Clinton's  troops,  or  to  get  possession  of  his  bag 
gage,  we  were  successful  in  neither.  The  battle  was  at  most 
a  drawn  one  ;  and  the  only  interruption  the  baggage  received 
was  when  a  small  party  would  run  across  the  road  between 
the  carts,  without  being  permitted  to  attempt  anything. 
There  was  no  attack  on  it,  and  it  had  no  losses  at  all. 

The  merits,  however,  of  the  battle  of  Monmouth  were 

*  Clinton  MS. 


BATTLE  OF  MOXMOUTH.  191 

loudly  disputed  and  variously  canvassed.  There  were  not 
wanting  military  men  in  either  army  to  condemn  in  pointed 
terms  the  character  of  Washington's  strategy;  while  Lee's 
conduct  soon  raised  a  hornet's  nest  about  that  general's  ears. 
What  were  the  words  Washington  used  to  him  when  they  met 
on  the  battle-field  are  unknown  to  me,  but  they  were  un 
doubtedly  very  strong  in  phrase  as  well  as  tone.  La  Fayette 
was  a  party  to  the  conversation.  He  avers  that  the  excite 
ment  of  the  scene  drove  the  precise  language  from  his  memory. 
This  personal  altercation  probably  brought  to  a  head  the  ill- 
blood  between  the  two  generals ;  and  but  for  Lee's  intemper 
ate  tongue  after  all  was  over,  we  might  never  have  heard  any 
thing  of  his  misconduct  upon  the  field.  It  is  certain  that  on 
the  30th  June,  he  was  appointed  major-general  for  the  ensu 
ing  day  by  Washington,  and  that  no  exception  in  his  dis 
favor  was  made  in  the  earlier  orders  from  head-quarters. 
The  Orderly  Books  of  June  29th  say :  — 

"  The  Commander  in  Chief  congratulates  the  Army  upon 
the  victory  obtained  over  his  Britannic  Majesty's  troops  yes 
terday,  and  thanks  most  sincerely  the  gallant  officers  and 
men  who  distinguished  themselves  upon  the  occasion,  and 
such  others  who  by  their  good  order  and  coolness  gave  the 
happiest  presage  of  what  might  have  been  expected  had  they 
come  to  action.  General  Dickenson  and  the  Militia  of  his 
State  are  also  thanked  for  their  noble  spirit  in  opposing  the 
enemy  on  their  march  from  Philadelphia,  and  for  the  aid 
they  have  given  by  harassing  and  impeding  their  march  so 
as  to  allow  the  continental  troops  to  come  up  with  them.  .  .  . 
A  party  consisting  of  200  men  to  parade  immediately  to  bury 
the  slain  of  both  parties ;  General  Woodford's  brigade  to 
cover  the  party.  The  officers  of  the  American  Army  are 
to  be  buried  with  the  military  honours  due  to  men  who  nobly 
fought  and  died  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  their  country.  .  .  . 
The  several  detachments  except  those  under  Col.  Morgan  are 
to  join  their  respective  brigades  immediately." 

On  the  other  hand,  Clinton's  course  was  freely  and  vari- 


192  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

ously  criticized.  On  the  motion  for  thanks  to  him  and  Corn- 
wallis,  Mr.  Coke  in  the  Commons  declared  that  the  whole 
march  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  "was  universally 
allowed  to  be  the  finest  thing  performed  during  the  present 
war  : "  while  the  Earl  of  Shelburne  characterized  it  as  the 
"shameful  retreat  from  Philadelphia,  when  the  General 
escaped  with  his  whole  army,  rather  by  chance  and  the 
misconduct  of  the  enemy,  than  by  the  natural  ability  of  the 
force  under  his  command."  With  sounder  cause,  military 
critics  have  questioned  the  wisdom  of  the  British  course. 
Why,  when  a  safe  retreat  was  the  manifest  object,  should 
Sir  Henry  have  avoided  the  shorter  route  by  the  Raritan, 
and  taken  the  longer  road  to  Sandy  Hook  ?  This  question 
Sir  Henry  himself  has  answered,  by  a  reference  to  the  position 
of  his  adversaries  :  —  "  Gates  in  front  beyond  the  Raritan  : 
Washington  in  the  rear  and  left  behind  the  Milestone  Creek, 
with  the  Fords  of  Raritan  on  his  left  to  join  or  be  joined  by 
Gates."  *  Why  did  he  pause  for  two  days  at  Monmouth, 
when  Washington  was  closing  on  his  skirts,  and  his  para 
mount  object  should  have  been  to  get  a  communication  with 
the  fleet  ?  "  No  military  man,"  quoth  Clinton  scornfully, 
"can  ask  this  question."  f  And  to  Stedman's  recapitulation 
of  the  dangerous  straits  to  which  his  army  wrould  have  been 
reduced  had  Washington  turned  either  of  the  British  flanks, 
Sir  Henry  tranquilly  replies :  "  When  the  author  knows 
the  country  a  little  better,  and  possible  military  movements 
in  it  a  little  better,  this  question  may  be  answered."  j 
From  the  various  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  particularly 
from  the  royal  commander's  evident  selection  of  the  position 
he  fought  in,  and  his  remaining  on  it  till  the  encounter  act 
ually  occurred,  it  may  be  presumed  that  he  had,  or  thought 
he  had  good  cause  to  expect  at  least  so  much  success  as  he 
experienced.  "Tell  General  Phillips,"  said  he  to  Major 
Clarke,  "  that  on  that  day  I  fought  upon  velvet :  he  will  fully 
understand  me."  For  my  own  part,  though  I  have  preferred 

*  Clinton  MS.  f  Ibid.  }  Ibid. 


D'ESTAING'S  ARRIVAL.  193 

to  give  the  story  in  the  original  language  of  its  actors,  I  am 
unable  to  conjecture  the  reasons  wherefrom  Clinton  derived 
such  sanguine  anticipations  of  victory  in  every  contingency. 
That  he  should  have  expected  to  secure  the  preservation  of 
his  baggage  by  just  such  a  check  as  he  gave  our  people  is 
plausible  enough ;  but  that  his  troops  should  have  preserved 
their  equanimity  under  the  very  probable  event  that  Sted- 
man  suggests,  is  not  to  my  comprehension  so  plain.  Prob 
ably  the  matter  would  appear  in  a  different  light  to  a  profes 
sional  eye. 

Once  among  the  Middletown  Hills,  the  English  were  out 
of  danger  from  the  Americans.  The  march  to  Sandy  Hook 
was  easy  ;  the  baggage  was  transported,  by  aid  of  the  fleet, 
over  a  bridge  of  boats  ;  and  after  delaying  a  little  in  hope  of 
encountering  our  army,  the  rest  of  the  enemy's  force  fol 
lowed  to  Staten  Island. 

On  July  oth,  the  very  day  that  Clinton  passed  from  the 
main  land  to  Staten  Island,  D'Estaing's  fleet  appeared  on  the 
Virginia  coast.  But  for  an  unusually  long  voyage  it  might 
have  found  Howe's  vessels  yet  in  the  Delaware ;  and  well- 
informed  writers  reckon  that  an  earlier  arrival  at  Sandy 
Hook  would  have  prevented  Sir  Henry's  crossing.  He  him 
self  was  of  different  opinion.  "  If  all  the  enemies'  combined 
fleet  had  been  laying  at  Sandy  Hook,  Sir  H.  Clinton,  com 
manding  with  gallies  and  gun-boats  the  inner  channel,  could 
always  have  got  to  Salem  [Staten]  Island  either  from  South 
Amboy  or  Mount  Pleasant."  *  On  the  llth  D'Estaing  with 
twelve  ships  of  the  line,  six  frigates,  and  4000  troops,  an 
chored  without  the  Hook,  designing  an  attack  on  the  British 
squadron  in  the  harbor.  Howe's  armament  was  considerably 
inferior,  consisting  of  but  six  ships  of  the  line,  four  of  fifty 
guns,  and  some  smaller  craft ;  and  his  vessels  were  very  in 
sufficiently  manned.  But  he  had  control  over  the  crews  of 
a  vast  number  of  transports  :  2000  naval  volunteers  pressed 
forward  to  engage  in  the  expected  action,  of  whom  at  least 

*  Clinton  MS. 
13 


194  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

1000  were  accepted;  and  the  anger  and  indignation  that 
pervaded  all  ranks  amply  supplied  any  deficiencies  of  his 
muster-rolls.  Mates  and  masters  of  merchantmen  sought 
places  at  the  guns  among  the  common  sailors  ;  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  had  D'Estaing  got  over  the  bar  and  into  the 
harbor,  he  never  would  have  got  out  again  in  command  of 
his  own  ships.  But  there  was  not  water,  he  thought,  for  his 
larger  vessels ;  and  in  the  moment  when,  by  favorable  con 
juncture  of  wind  and  tide,  the  whole  British  population  were 
agog  in  anticipation  of  attack,  he  put  up  his  helm  and  by 
preconcerted  arrangement  with  Washington  bore  away  for 
Rhode  Island.  Scarcely  was  he  out  of  sight,  however,  when 
sail  after  sail  of  Byron's  command  came  dropping  in,  shat 
tered  and  weather-beaten  ;  all  of  which  must  have  fallen  into 
his  hands  but  for  his  withdrawal.  With  these,  though  still 
inferior  to  the  French,  Howe  sailed  to  find  them. 

Meantime  Sullivan,  Greene,  and  Lafayette,  with  10,000 
men,  were  assembled  against  Pigot,  well  entrenched  with 
6000  at  Newport.  On  D'Estaing's  arrival  success  seemed 
certain ;  and  the  militia  of  Massachusetts,  led  by  Hancock 
in  person,  pleased  themselves  with  the  idea  of  at  last  get 
ting  rid  of  so  abhorred  and  dangerous  a  neighbor.  But  dis 
sensions  sprung  up  between  the  French  and  American 
leaders,  in  which  the  former  were  chiefly  to  blame.  Howe's 
fleet  appeared  ;  D'Estaing  stood  out  with  the  weathergage 
to  fight  him ;  a  storm  sprung  up,  and  the  French  only  reap 
peared  at  Newport  to  notify  their  intention  of  proceeding 
forthwith  to  refit  at  Boston.  The  remonstrances  and  the 
anger  of  our  generals  were  equally  vain.  D'Estaing  went 
away,  and  the  siege  was  abandoned.  Clinton,  who  had 
sailed  with  4000  men  to  relieve  Pigot,  no  sooner  knew  the 
French  fleet  to  be  gone,  than  he  endeavored  either  to  inter 
cept  Sullivan's  retreat,  or  to  find  means  to  fall  upon  Provi 
dence.  Grey's  division  was  with  him ;  and  when  lie  found 
it  impossible  to  carry  out  his  original  ideas  he  dispatched  this 
officer  against  New  Bedford,  —  one  of  the  chief  among  the 


ANDRE'S  VERSES  ON  THE  INVESTMENT  OF  NEWPORT.  195 

minor  seaports  that  lined  the  New  England  coast,  —  and 
wrought  infinite  mischief  to  British  commerce.  On  the  5th 
September,  at  five  P.  M.,  Grey  anchored  in  Clark's  Cove, 
and  at  six,  debarking  with  very  slight  loss,  he  ravaged  the 
Acuslmet  River  for  six  miles.  The  fort  was  dismantled  and 
burned,  its  guns  demolished,  and  its  magazine  blown  up  ;  up 
wards  of  seventy  sail  of  privateers  and  their  prizes  consumed ; 
and  numbers  of  buildings  containing  very  great  quantities  of 
stores  reduced  to  ashes.  From  Buzzard's  Bay  he  passed 
through  the  baffling  tides  of  Quick's  Hole  (which  can  never 
be  forgotten  by  any  one  who  has  ever  sailed  over  them),  to 
Martha's  Vineyard ;  where  he  levied  a  contribution  of  300 
oxen,  10,000  sheep,  all  the  arms  of  the  militia,  and  £1000 
in  paper-money,  being  the  sum  of  the  public  funds  on  hand. 
Taking  or  destroying  what  vessels  he  found  there,  Grey  re 
turned  from  the  island  to  New  York.  His  esteem  for  his 
aide,  however,  and  his  desire  to  leave  him,  at  his  own  ap 
proaching  withdrawal  from  America,  on  the  best  possible 
footing  at  head-quarters,  probably  induced  the  general  to 
send  by  his  hands  in  the  first  instance  a  very  brief  account 
of  his  doings  to  Clinton.  "  I  write  in  haste,"  he  says,  "  and 
not  a  little  tired ;  therefore  must  beg  leave  to  refer  you  for 
the  late  plan  of  operations  and  particulars  to  Captain  Andre." 
The  value  of  such  language,  repeated  from  the  commander- 
in-chief  to  the  minister  at  London,  and  reiterated  in  the  official 
gazettes,  can  readily  be  appreciated  by  all  military  men.*  It 
was  probably  in  the  unemployed  hours  of  his  voyage  to  New 
York  that  Andre  found  leisure  to  commemorate  the  first  fruits 
of  the  French  Alliance  in  these  lines  :  — 

YANKEE  DOODLE'S  EXPEDITION  TO  RHODE  ISLAND. 

From  Lewis  Monsieur  Gerard  came 
To  Congress  in  this  town,  Sir ; 

#  This  Bedford  foray,  and  not  the  Paoli  affair,  is  alluded  to  by  Germain 
to  the  Royal  Commissioners,  4th  November,  1778,  as  the  wise  and  ably 
executed  expedition  under  Grey.  — Reed's  Reed,  i.  436. 


196  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

They  bow'd  to  him,  and  he  to  them, 
And  then  they  all  sat  down,  Sir. 

Chorus  :  Yankee  Doodle,  &c. 

Begar,  said  Monsieur,  one  grand  coup 

You  shall  bientut  behold,  Sir. 
This  was  believed  as  Gospel  true, 

And  Jonathan  ftlt  bold,  Sir. 

So  Yankee  Doodle  did  forget 
The  sound  of  British  drum,  Sir; 

How  oft  it  made  him  quake  and  sweat 
In  spite  of  Yankee  rum,  Sir. 

He  took  his  wallet  on  his  back, 

His  rifle  on  his  shoulder, 
And  veow'd  Rhode-Island  to  attack 

Before  he  was  much  older. 

In  dread  array  their  tatter' d  crew 
Ad  vane' d  with  colours  spread,  Sir; 

Their  fifes  played  Yankee  Doodle  doo, 
King  Hancock  at  their  head,  Sir. 

What  numbers  bravely  cross' d  the  seas 

I  cannot  well  determine ; 
A  swarm  of  Rebels  and  of  fleas 

And  every  other  vermin. 

Their  mighty  hearts  might  shrink,  they  tho't; 

For  all  flesh  only  grass  is ; 
A  plenteous  store  they  therefore  brought 

Of  whisky  and  molasses. 

They  swore  they'd  make  bold  Pigot  squeak, 

So  did  their  good  Ally,  Sir, 
And  take  him  prisoner  in  a  week ; 

But  that  was  all  my  eye,  Sir. 

As  Jonathan  so  much  desir'd 

To  shine  in  martial  story, 
D'Estaing  yriHa. politesse  retir'd 

To  leave  him  all  the  glory. 

He  left  him  what  was  better  yet ; 
At  least  it  was  more  use,  Sir: 


HIS  PROMOTION.  —  SIR  CHARLES  GREY.  197 

He  left  him  for  a  quick  retreat 
A  very  good  excuse,  Sir. 

To  stay,  unless  he  rul'd  the  sea, 

He  thought  would  not  be  right,  Sir; 
And  continental  troops,  said  he, 

On  islands  should  not  fight,  Sir. 

Another  cause  with  these  combin'd 

To  throw  him  in  the  dumps,  Sir : 
For  Clinton's  name  alarm'd  his  mind 

And  made  him  stir  his  stumps,  Sir. 

Sing  Yankee  Doodle  Doodle  doo,  &c.* 

While  D'Estaing,  under  cover  of  formidable  works  on 
George's  Island  where  he  had  mounted  100  heavy  guns,  was 
repairing  his  fleet,  Congress  and  Washington  were  striving 
to  allay  the  heats  into  which  our  generals  were  thrown  by 
his  withdrawal  from  Newport.  Though  they  succeeded  in 
stilling  the  angry  tongues  of  superior  officers,  the  passions  of 
the  populace  were  still  inflamed ;  and  in  a  riot  that  sprung  up 
in  Boston,  some  of  the  Frenchmen  were  very  severely  hand 
led.  When  Howe  returned  to  New  York  from  a  fruitless 
cruise  before  Boston,  and  found  reinforcements  that  gave 
him  the  superiority,  a  serious  move  was  under  considera 
tion. 

"  After  Lord  Howe  had  been  joined  by  the  greater  part 
of  Byron's  squadron,  Sir  H.  Clinton  offered  himself  with 
6000  troops  to  accompany  Lord  H.  to  Boston  Bay,  to  at 
tempt  a  landing  on  Point  Alderton  ;  to  endeavor  from  thence 
to  attack  or  destroy  the  batteries  on  the  islands  covering 
D'Estaing's  fleet ;  or,  by  seizing  Boston,  deprive  that  fleet  of 

*  This  piece  is  reprinted,  with  useful  notes,  in  Moore's  Ballads  of  the 
Revolution.  The  first  verses  refer  to  the  terms  in  which  the  American  pa 
pers  related  Gerard's  reception  by  Congress;  and  in  this  connection,  the 
lines  were  originally  pretended  to  have  been  written  at  Philadelphia.  They 
are  printed  here  •from  the  text  given  by  Rivington's  tract,  1780 ;  which, 
though  it  does  not  name  the  author,  contains  two  other  pieces  by  Andre", 
and  one  by  his  friend  and  literary  coadjutor,  Dr.  Odell.  Internal  evidence 
also  points  to  Andre"  as  the  writer. 


198  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

its  necessary  supplies,  and  force  it  to  quit  its  position.  Lord 
H.  seemed  at  first  to  relish  the  proposal,  but  afterwards 
declined  it,  for  reasons  I  am  persuaded  the  best,  tho'  he 
never  communicated  them  to  me.  From  what  I  have  heard 
since,  I  really  believe  we  could  have  succeeded.  D'Estaing 
had  only  eleven,  and  Lord  Howe  twenty-one  sail  of  the  line."  * 

The  fact  is,  that  the  Admiral  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  home  as  soon  as  the  fleet  was  stronger  than  D'Estaing's. 
On  the  26th  of  September,  "  Black  Dick,"  as  he  was  called, 
left  the  coast,  with  the  regret  of  all  who  had  served  under 
him.  His  successor,  the  inefficient  Gambier,  held  command 
to  the  following  March,  when  he  was  removed,  wrote  a  loy 
alist,  "to  the  universal  joy  of  all  ranks  and  conditions.  I 
believe  no  person  was  ever  more  detested  by  navy,  army, 
and  citizen,  than  this  penurious  old  reptile."  In  later  years 
he  brought  shame  on  the  service  at  the  Basque  Roads,  and 
became  in  Hood's  satire  the  great  Gambogee  of  the  Hum- 
Fum  Society. 

Andre's  next  active  service  was  when  Clinton  pushed 
heavy  foraging  detachments  up  the  North  River,  and  de 
stroyed  the  privateers  of  Egg  Harbor.  Lest  his  aim  might 
be  the  Highlands,  troops  were  so  posted  by  Washington  as 
to  interrupt  and  discover  such  a  movement.  Of  these  was 
Baylor's  regiment  of  dragoons  which,  on  the  28th  of  Sep 
tember,  was  quartered  at  Taapan  or  Herringtown,  a  small 
hamlet  on  the  Hackensack  River.  Against  these  Grey  so 
skilfully  led  a  night-attack,  that  the  Americans  had  no  op 
portunity  of  saving  themselves,  but  by  dispersion  and  flight. 
In  affairs  of  this  nature,  it  is  not  the  custom  of  war  to  lose 
time  in  receiving  and  disarming  prisoners,  and  sending  them 
to  the  rear  ;  nevertheless,  "  the  whole  of  the  fourth  troop," 
says  Marshall,  "  were  spared  by  one  of  Grey's  captains, 
whose  humanity  was  superior  to  his  obedience  to  orders." 
We  may  well  suppose  that  this  captain  was  the  general's 
aide.  Among  the  Americans  who  fell  was  Major  Clough, 
*  Clinton  MS. 


ANDRE'S  PROMOTION.  199 

who  had  aided  with  these  troopers  in  disturbing  the  lines  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  night  of  the  Mischianza.  This  stroke, 
however,  on  a  smaller  scale  but  in  the  very  style  of  the 
Paoli,  was  greatly  censured  in  our  camp,  and  denounced  as 
little  else  than  a  massacre.*  A  reinforcement  of  3500  men 
from  England  had  reached  Clinton  on  the  25th  of  August, 
but  their  arrival  had  been  so  delayed  by  a  detour  to  the 
channel  island  of  Jersey,  that  they  were  too  late  to  be  of 
much  use  in  this  campaign. f 

At  this  period,  Andre  again  changed  his  regiment.  The 
26th  was  ordered  home ;  but  such  was  the  reluctance  to  part 
with  so  valuable  an  officer,  that  his  superiors  went  to  the 
trouble  of  an  arrangement  by  which  he  might  still  remain 
with  Clinton.  The  44th,  in  which  his  brother  was  a  captain, 
was  ordered  to  Canada.  A  captain  of  the  54th,  which  was 
to  continue  in  America,  wishing  to  sell,  it  was  settled  that  he 
should  take,  instead  of  his  own,  the  younger  Andre's  com 
pany  in  the  44th,  which  he  forthwith  sold  to  Sir  Thomas 
Wallace  ;  to  whom  the  purchase-money  was  advanced  by 
Sir  James  Wallace  of  the  navy  (apparently  no  relation)  to 
the  amount  of  £1500  or  £2000.  John  Andre  had  the  va 
cated  captaincy  in  the  54th,  and  his  brother  took  that  in  the 
26th,  choosing  to  go  to  England  rather  than  Canada.  Grey 
also  leaving  this  country,  Andre,  with  the  provincial  rank  of 
major,  was  appointed  an  aide  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  Con 
sidering  the  relations  that  existed  between  this  general  and 
his  predecessor,  it  at  least  was  no  slight  compliment  to  an 
officer's  merits  that  both  should  be  so  ready  to  oblige  him. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  the  son  of  Admiral  George  Clin 
ton,  once  governor  of  New  York,  who  was  second  son  of  the 

*  I  am  inclined  to  think  Andre  celebrated  these  and  other  feats  of  the 
light  infantry  in  appropriate  verse ;  but  compositions  that  savor  of  his  style 
cannot  be  introduced  here  without  evidence  of  authorship.  See  The  Brit 
ish  Light  Infantry ;  A  Medley  for  the  Light  Infantry ;  The  Sacrifice,  etc. ; 
printed  in  The  Loyalist  Poetry  of  the  Revoludion. 

t  "  Two  months  of  most  important  operations  lost  by  this  Don  Quix 
otic  move  to  Jersey."  —  Clinton  MS. 


200  LIFE   OF  MAJOR 

ninth  Earl  of  Lincoln.  The  Clintons  came  from  Geoffrey 
de  Clinton,  the  builder  of  Kenihvorth,  who,  though  a  novus 
homo  in  1129,  was  the  father  of  princely  lines.  In  the  old 
days,  when  baronies  were  held  by  tenure  and  not  by  writ,  it 
may  be  supposed  that  the  Clintons  were  not  a  house  of  the 
first  magnitude,  since  they  do  not  appear  among  the  twenty- 
five  great  guardians  of  Magna  Charta,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  thirteenth  century  :  not  an  unlucky  circumstance  for  them 
in  the  end,  as  not  a  male  descendant  of  the  "  Iron  Barons  " 
is  a  peer  to-day.  In  person,  Sir  Henry  was  short  and 
stout,  with  a  full  face  and  prominent  nose :  his  manners 
reserved,  and  though  polite,  not  popular  with  the  world  at 
large.  He  had  long  been  accustomed  to  arms  in  the  best 
practical  schools  of  Europe  ;  and  Prince  Ferdinand  bore  very 
honorable  testimony  to  his  capacity.  At  Bunker  Hill,  with 
out  waiting  for  orders,  he  flew  to  lead  the  reinforcements 
for  Howe  which  were  wavering  in  uncertainty  whither  to 
march ;  and  was  of  essential  service.  These  officers,  who 
"  never  differed  in  one  jot  of  military  sentiment "  at  this  pe 
riod,  became  afterwards  rivals  and  foes.  He  was  regarded 
by  many,  however,  as  more  conspicuous  for  honesty,  zeal,  and 
courage,  than  for  military  genius.  It  was  complained  that 
he  never  knew  when  to  strike.  In  our  army,  a  plan  for  his 
seizure  was  canvassed  and  abandoned  on  the  ground  that 
his  measure  was  exactly  ascertained,  and  any  change  in  the 
command  would  be  for  the  worse.  "  I  should  be  very  sorry," 
wrote  Livingston  at  the  time  of  Cornwallis's  fall,  "  to  have 
Clinton  recalled  through  any  national  resentment  against 
him,  because,  as  fertile  as  that  country  is  in  the  production 
of  blockheads,  I  think  they  cannot  easily  send  us  a  greater 
blunderbuss,  unless  peradventure  it  should  please  his  maj 
esty  himself  to  do  us  the  honour  of  a  visit."  He  was  ac 
cused,  and  not  without  appearance  of  reason,  of  an  habitual 
indecision,  that  in  a  man  vested  with  a  great  public  trust 
often  approaches  imbecility.  An  instance  of  this  trait  oc 
curred  when  he  suffered  the  American  and  French  armies  to 


CHARACTER  OF  SIR  HENRY  CLINTON.  201 

pass  from  his  own  vicinity  to  that  of  Cornwallis.  It  was 
evident  that  they  must  attack  either  the  one  British  com 
mander  or  the  other ;  and  success  in  either  undertaking  was 
ruin  to  the  cause  of  the  crown.  An  abler  officer  would  per 
haps  have  anticipated  an  assault  on  New  York  by  finding  a 
lucky  chance  to  strike  at  the  enemy  himself;  but  when  it 
was  once  plain  that  the  allies  were  definitely  gone  to  Virginia, 
it  was  folly  not  to  send  instant  and  abundant  relief  to  the 
Chesapeake ;  and  it  was  worse  than  folly  for  a  commander- 
in-chief  to  consider  personal  punctilio  or  private  jealousies, 
when  great  state  interests  are  concerned.  He  seems  to  have 
had  a  landed  estate  too  in  America ;  but  all  the  information 
I  have  on  this  subject  consists  in  his  notice  of  the  measures 
for  confiscation  of  whig  estates  in  Carolina,  established  by 
Cornwallis  in  1780. 

"  I  know  no  great  use  in  this  act  of  severity ;  it  was  not 
even  reported  to  me  till  it  had  been  represented  to  and  ap 
proved  by  the  minister ;  it  produced  retaliation,  and  I  was 
the  sufferer,  though  a  British  subject  and  born  a  subject.  My 
estate  was  confiscated  and  sold,  and  I  can  get  redress  no 
where."  * 

To  me,  Sir  Henry  appears  as  a  good  man,  and,  in  many 
respects,  as  an  excellent  officer,  but  deficient  in  the  genius 
necessary  for  the  first  post.  In  private  he  was  amiable  and 
humane ;  the  correspondent  of  Gibbon  and  the  confidential 
friend  of  Sheffield.  He  died  governor  of  Gibraltar,  Decem 
ber  13th,  1795.  The  spirit  of  faction  that  permeated  through 
both  army  and  navy  in  this  war,  renders  it  sometimes  difficult 
to  get  at  the  real  state  of  certain  cases ;  and  his  retirement 
from  America  was  respectably  believed  to  have  been  less 
of  a  resignation  than  a  removal.  He  thus  notices  such  a 
surmise :  — 

"  As  this  author  chuses  to  insinuate  that  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  had  been  superceded  in  the  command  by  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  Sir  H.  C.  takes  leave  to  repeat  what  the  King  was 

*  Clinton  MS. 


202  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRL\ 

pleased  to  say  to  him  at  the  first  audience  he  was  called  to 
after  his  return  from  America.  — '  I  always  wished  to  see 
1  you,  Sir  Henry,  in  the  command  of  my  armies  in  America  : 
'  but  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  so  exceedingly  pressing  for 
'  your  return  that  I  was  obliged  at  last  to  acquiesce.'  —  Sir 
H.  Clinton  had  asked  three  times  every  year  to  have  leave  to 
resign  the  command,  but  his  majesty  would  never  before  con 
sent."* 

Both  armies  going  into  winter-quarters,  little  more  oc 
curred  in  this  year  of  an  active  nature  for  Andre  to  bear 
part  in.  The  French  fleet  was  in  the  West  Indies,  where 
Byron  was  vainly  endeavoring  to  inveigle  it  to  action  ;  and 
the  loyalists  in  New  York  were  in  constant  hope  of  D'Es- 
taing's  destruction,  and  a  consequent  withdrawal  of  his  court 
from  the  quarrel.  "  D'Estaing's  blockade  by  Byron  at  Mar 
tinique  —  one  of  the  most  fortunate  events  of  the  war  — 
must  revive  the  spirits  of  the  most  drooping  Tory  in  Phil 
adelphia.  The  game  is  in  our  own  hands,  and  we  may 
expect  to  hear  next  of  the  taking  of  D'Estaing.  A  treaty 
between  England  and  France  follows  of  course ;  and  we 
must  then  shed  tears  of  pity  for  poor  America,  laid  in  ruins 
to  gratify  the  fatal  ambition  of  a  few  artful  men."  f 

But  the  usual  luck  of  "  the  hardy  Byron  "  of  the  poet  — 
more  appropriately  known  as  Foul-weather  Jack  by  his 
sailors  —  did  not  desert  him.  D'Estaing  was  not  taken ; 
and  all  the  tears  tory  eyes  could  command  were  in  the 
end  wanted  for  their  own  misfortunes.  Of  as  little  real 
importance,  (considering  that  one  of  its  heroes  afterwards 
sat  in  judgment  on  the  author's  life,)  was  the  following 
squib,  published  by  Andre  in  Rivington's  Gazette.  It  is  a 
perfectly  fair  paraphrase,  so  far  as  details  are  concerned,  of 
the  pompous  account  of  a  duel  between  Lieutenant-governor 
Gadsden  of  Carolina,  and  Major-general  Howe  of  our  army, 
provoked  by  the  former's  published  letter  reflecting  injuri 
ously  upon  his  opponent's  military  conduct.  As  Gadsden 
*  Clinton  MS.  t  Loyalist  MS.  New  York,  1778. 


ANDRE'S  VERSES  UPON  AN  AMERICAN  DUEL.       203 

was  not  in  Howe's  line  of  service,  and  would  neither  retract 
nor  apologize  for  his  language,  a  challenge  passed  ;  and  in 
the  consequent  duel  Howe's  ball  grazed  his  antagonist's  ear, 
after  which  an  honorable  reconciliation  was  effected  by  the 
seconds,  Col.  Bernard  Elliott  and  Gen.  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney.  The  initials  in  the  verses  are  in  strict  accordance 
with  those  used  in  the  American  newspapers  ;  but  the  latter 
would  fix  the  date  of  the  encounter  on  Sept.  5th.  The  in 
troductory  lines  are  of  course  a  mere  blind :  — 


ON  THE  AFFAIR  BETWEEN  THE  REBEL  GENERALS  HOWE 
AND  GADDESDEN. 

CHAELESTOWN,  S.  C.,  Sept.  1st,  1778. 

We  are  favored  -with  the  following  authentic  account  of  the  affair  of 
honour,  which  happened  on  the  13th  of  August,  1778.  Eleven  o'clock  was 
the  hour  appointed  for  Generals  H.  and  G.  to  meet;  accordingly,  about  ten 
minutes  before  eleven  —  but  hold,  it  is  too  good  a  story  to  be  told  in  simple 
prose. 

It  was  on  Mr.  Percy's  land, 

At  Squire  Rugeley's  corner, 
Great  H.  and  G.  met,  sword  in  hand, 

Upon  a  point  of  honour. 

Chorus:  Yankee  Doodle,  doodle  doo,  &c. 

G.  went  before,  with  Colonel  E., 

Together  in  a  carriage ; 
On  horseback  followed  H.  and  P. 

As  if  to  steal  a  marriage. 

On  chosen  ground  they  now  alight, 

For  battle  duly  harnessed ; 
A  shady  place,  and  out  of  sight : 

It  shew'd  they  were  in  earnest. 

They  met,  and  in  the  usual  way 

With  hat  in  hand  saluted ; 
Which  was,  no  doubt,  to  shew  how  they 

Like  gentlemen  disputed. 

And  then  they  both  together  made 
This  honest  declaration,  — 


204  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

That  they  came  there,  by  honour  led, 
And  not  by  inclination. 

That  if  they  fought,  'twas  not  because 
Of  rancour,  spite,  or  passion : 

But  only  to  obey  the  laws 
Of  custom  and  the  fashion. 

The  pistols,  then,  before  their  eyes 
Were  fairly  primed  and  loaded ; 

H.  wished,  and  so  did  G.  likewise, 
The  custom  were  exploded. 

But,  as  they  now  had  gone  so  far 
In  such  a  bloody  business, 

For  action  straight  they  both  prepare 
With  mutual  forgiveness. 

But  lest  their  courage  should  exceed 
The  bounds  of  moderation, 

Between  the  seconds  'twas  agreed 
To  fix  them  each  a  station. 

The  distance,  stepp'd  by  Colonel  P., 
Was  only  eight  short  paces ; 

"Now,  gentlemen,"  says  Colonel  E., 
"  Be  sure  to  keep  your  places." 

Quoth  H.  to  G.,  —  "  Sir,  please  to  fire; " 
Quoth  G.,  —  "  No,  pray  begin,  Sir:  " 

And  truly,  we  must  needs  admire 
The  temper  they  were  in,  Sir. 

"We'll  fire  both  at  once,"  said  H.; 

And  so  they  both  presented ; 
No  answer  Avas  returned  by  G., 

But  silence,  Sir,  consented. 

They  paused  awhile,  these  gallant  foes, 
By  turns,  politely  grinning ; 

'Till,  after  many  cons  and  j?ros, 
H.  made  a  brisk  beginning. 

H.  missed  his  mark,  but  not  his  aim; 

The  shot  was  well  directed. 
It  saved  them  both  from  hurt  and  shame : 

What  more  could  be  expected  ? 


ANDRE'S  VERSES  UPON  AN  AMERICAN  DUEL.      205 

Then  G.,  to  shew  he  meant  no  harm, 

But  hated  jars  and  jangles, 
His  pistol  fired  across  his  arm : 

From  H.,  almost  at  angles. 

H.  now  -was  called  upon  by  G. 

To  fire  another  shot,  Sir; 
He  smiled  and,  "  after  that,"  quoth  he, 

"  No,  truly  I  cannot,  Sir." 

Such  honour  did  they  both  display 

They  highly  were  commended ; 
And  thus,  in  short,  this  gallant  fray 

Without  mischance  was  ended. 

No  fresh  dispute,  we  may  suppose, 

"Will  e'er  by  them  be  started; 
And  now  the  chiefs,  no  longer  foes, 
Shook  hands,  and  so  they  parted. 

Chorus :  Yankee  Doodle,  doodle  doo,  &c. 

Through  all  the  war,  the  British  loved  to  ridicule  our  peo 
ple  with  the  burden  of  this  song.  Yankee  Doodle  was  with 
them  the  most  withering  sarcasm.  Sometimes  they  met  a 
retort  in  kind  hardly  so  grateful.  Percy's  drums  beat  this 
air  when  he  set  out  for  Lexington  ;  and  Gates's  musicians 
repeated  it  when  the  arms  were  grounded  at  Saratoga.  The 
idea  was  not  new.  When  Cumberland  crossed  the  Spey 
against  Charles  Edward,  it  was  thought  a  wise  thing  to  insult 
the  Scots  with  the  air  — 

"  Will  you  play  me  fair  play, 
Bonnie  laddie,  Highland  laddie?  " 


CHAPTER   XL 

New  York  in  1778.  —  Andre's  Political  Essay.  —  His  Favor  with  Clinton.  — 
Receives  the  Surrender  of  Fort  La  Fayette.  —  Letter  to  Mrs.  Arnold. — 
Commencement  of  Arnold's  Intrigue.  —  Appointed  Deputy  Adjutant- 
General.  —  Siege  of  Charleston.  —  Letter  to  Savannah.  —  Accused  of 
entering  Charleston  as  a  Spy. 

THE  city  of  New  York,  for  the  rest  of  the  war  the  British 
head-quarters,  was  far  in  1778-9  from  its  present  metropoli 
tan  condition.  Though  about  a  mile  in  length,  by  half  a 
mile  in  width,  it  was  inferior  in  population  and  in  impor 
tance  to  Philadelphia.  Its  narrow,  clean,  and  well-paved 
streets  were  lined  with  neatly-built  houses  of  wood  or  brick, 
and  these  for  convenience  of  the  harbor  being  chiefly  clus 
tered  along  the  East  River,  were  thus  subjected  to  difficulties 
in  the  supply  of  fresh  water.  The  ruin  caused  by  the  con 
flagration  of  1776  yet  subsisted,  and  in  The  Burnt  District 
the  blackened  skeletons  of  500  dwellings  stretched  along 
Broadway,  from  Whitehall  Slip  up  to  Rector  Street.  To 
this  devastation  was  added  that  of  the  fire  which  broke  out 
at  one  A.  M.  on  the  10th  of  August,  1778,  and  consumed  300 
houses.  The  best  people  then  lived  in  Wall  or  Pearl  streets ; 
and  to  arrive  at  the  present  abodes  of  fashion,  one  must  have 
ridden  through  several  miles  of  country.  Ponds,  hills,  and 
open  fields  extended  where  now  is  nothing  but  leagues  of 
stone  walls  and  solid  pavements;  and  the  mutilated  statues 
of  Chatham  and  King  George  bore  public  witness  to  the  civic 
discord  that  had  brought  them  from  their  high  estate.  But 
no  dilapidation  deprived  the  English  soldier  for  the  first  time 
entering  the  port,  of  "  the  most  beautiful  scene  that  could  be 
imagined."  On  the  one  hand  were  spread  the  fertile  shores 
of  Long  Island,  abounding  in  game,  studded  with  country- 


NEW  YORK  IX  1778.  207 

seats  and  thriving  villages,  and  the  garden-spot  of  the  coast ; 
on  the  other,  wide  forests  rose  above  the  rough  irregularities 
of  Staten  Island,  in  strong  and  luxuriant  contrast  to  the  nak 
edness  of  that  on  which  the  city  stood,  whence  almost  every 
tree  had  been  removed.  Powerful  works  defended  all  parts 
of  the  town.  The  old  fortifications  at  The  Battery,  en 
larged  to  receive  ninety-four  heavy  guns,  were  strengthened 
with  stone  with  merlons  of  cedar  joists  and  filled  in  with 
earth ;  they  commanded  alike  the  entrances  of  the  North  and 
East  rivers.  Along  the  course  too  of  either  stream  a  series 
of  breastworks  were  raised,  connecting  with  each  other  in 
the  strong  ground  towards  Kingsbridge  by  well-ordered  and 
powerful  lines  that  followed  the  heights  and  extended  across 
the  island.  In  this  upper  part  of  the  works,  the  first  British 
post  to  be  met  after  crossing  from  the  main-land  over  Har- 
laem  River  to  York  Island,  was  Fort  Charles  :  a  strong  re 
doubt  overhanging  and  commanding  Kingsbridge.  Next,  as 
we  approach  New  York  city,  were  the  works  that  rising  one 
above  the  other  bristled  with  their  guns  the  steeps  of  Laurel 
Hill.  The  road  to  the  town  led  through  a  pass  on  the  right, 
where  again  was  lofty  ground,  on  which  stood  Fort  Knyp- 
hausen,  once  Fort  Washington,  and  so  narrow  was  the  path 
between  the  two  ascents  that  the  British  closed  it  with  a  gate. 
Continuing  on  by  where  is  now  the  Central  Park,  the  ground 
remained  singularly  strong ;  at  McGowan's  Pass,  it  was  be 
lieved  that  a  few  companies  properly  handled  could  keep  an 
army  at  bay.  The  chief  difficulty  with  these  extensive  works, 
however,  was  the  great  force  necessary  to  defend  them.  Suf 
ficiently  manned,  they  were  perhaps  impregnable ;  but  to  do 
this  compelled  the  detention  of  thousands  of  troops  from  pro 
longed  enterprise  in  the  field. 

The  English  had  other  posts  without  the  limits  of  the 
island.  At  Sandy  Hook  were  some  heavy  gun  and  mortar 
batteries.  On  the  main-land  above  Morrisania  was  the  small 
work  called  Number  Four,  usually  garrisoned  by  a  captain's 
guard  and  hardly  capable  of  being  preserved  in  a  serious  in- 


208  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

vestment  of  the  place.  A  regiment  held  the  post  where  Pau- 
lus  Hook  stretches  out  from  the  Jersey  shore  into  the  North 
River.  Formidable  works  were  erected  at  Brooklyn  Heights 
on  that  part  of  Long  Island  opposite  to  the  city.  The  New 
Fort  here  would  accommodate  1000  or  1500  men.  Brook 
lyn  itself  was  then  a  small,  scattered  village,  with  a  capital 
tavern  famous  for  its  fish-dinners,  which  the  royal  officers 
were  accustomed  to  consume  to  an  extent  that  soon  made  n 
rich  man  of  the  landlord.  These  fish-loving  gentry  relate  in 
melancholy  wise  the  deprivation  that  fell  upon  the  town  by 
reason  of  the  war.  They  tell  that  New  York  had  long  been 
dependent  on  the  eastern  coasts  for  its  lobsters  till  a  well-boat 
was  shattered  in  Hell- Gate,  and  the  escaping  prey  populated 
the  neighboring  depths.  Here  they  flourished  in  cold  and  in 
boiling  water  until  the  tremendous  cannonading  of  the  Long 
Island  battle  disturbed  their  retreats ;  they  passed  away,  and 
their  accustomed  haunts  knew  them  no  more.  It  was  through 

C? 

this  same  whirlpool  of  Hell-Gate  that  Sir  James  Wallace, 
pursued  by  a  French  fleet  into  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island 
Sound,  steered  the  Experiment  in  1777.  The  passage  was 
daring  and  perilous  ;  but  he  brought  her  safely  through.  On 
Staten  Island  too  Clinton  had  strong  posts  with  1000  or  1500 
men ;  and  here  Andre,  with  other  young  officers,  was  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  Simcoe's  quarters,  where  the  landlord's 
pretty  daughter  bloomed  in  rustic  seclusion  and  tempted 
many  a  gallant  across  the  waters  and  the  hills. 

If  the  population  of  New  York  was  lessened  by  the  mi 
gration  of  its  whigs,  it  was  abundantly  recruited  by  the  in 
coming  troops  and  tories.  It  was  well  understood  that 
Ministers  were  for  manifold  reasons  resolved  to  hold  out 
longer  here  than  in  any  other  place ;  and  though  many  of 
the  loyalists,  "once  lords  of  thousands,"  now  languished  in 
comparative  destitution  at  London,  there  were  throngs  at 
New  York  to  supply  their  absence.  Nor  was  involuntary 
increase  wanting. 

"  Our  little  half-demolished  town  here  seems  crowded  to 


NEW  YORK  IX  1778.  209 

the  full,  and  almost  every  day  produces  fresh  inhabitants. 
Two  or  three  days  ago  five  or  six  wagon-loads  of  women 
and  children  were  sent  in  from  Albany,  in  imitation  of  the 
prudent  policy  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  impossible  to  see 
them  without  pain,  driving  about  the  streets  in  the  forlorn 
attitudes  which  people  fatigued  with  travelling  and  riding  in 
wagons  naturally  fall  into,  making  fruitless  searches  for  their 
husbands  and  fathers."  * 

Dicing,  drinking,  fine  dressing,  and  amateur  theatricals, 
made  New  York  as  gay  to  the  English  as  Philadelphia. 
Their  stage  was  raised  at  the  John  Street  Theatre,  with  Beau 
mont  the  surgeon-general  as  manager,  and  Major  Williams 
of  the  artillery  for  principal  tragedian.  Colonel  French 
was  the  low-comedy  man,  and  Andre,  Stanley,  De  Lancy, 
&c.,  had  various  parts.  Female  characters,  where  an  officer 
had  not  in  his  train  a  woman  competent  to  the  performance, 
were  assigned  to  the  youngest  ensigns ;  and  Macbeth,  Rich 
ard  III.,  and  the  Beaux  Stratagem,  were  ventured  upon. 
The  bottle  was  not  neglected :  hard  drinking  prevailed,  and 
it  was  a  point  of  social  honor  to  press  the  glass  upon  guests ; 
and  during  morning  visits  the  punch-bowl  was  freely  circu 
lated  and  healths  drank  by  the  ladies.  Clinton's  quarters 
were  at  No.  1,-  Broadway  ;  but  he  also  maintained  a  country- 
seat  in  Dr.  Beekman's  house  at  the  corner  of  52nd  Street 
and  First  Avenue,  where  he  lived  more  at  ease  ;  and  every 
day  might  be  seen  with  his  staff  taking  his  constitutional 
gallop  up  m  Broadway  to  what  was  then  The  Fields.  The 
loyalists,  however,  who  found  refuge  here,  were  comforted 
neither  with  the  military  government  of  the  city,  nor  the  so 
cial  eclipse  into  which  they  were  thrown  by  "  the  Lords,  and 
Sir  Georges,  and  dear  Colonels,"  of  its  garrison.  The  fash 
ion  of  a  fine  gentleman's  wearing  two  watches,  which  was 
ridiculous  at  Philadelphia,  was  esteemed  highly  polite  in 
New  York.  The  custom  introduced  by  Admiral  Digby  of 
closing  the  windows  for  a  half-past  four  o'clock  dinner-party, 

*  Loyal  MS. 
14 


210  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

and  dining  by  candle-light,  was  as  novel  to  the  American 
stranger  as  the  religious  exactitude  with  which,  through  rain 
or  snow,  the  New  Year's  calls  were  paid.  At  Philadelphia, 
after  the  evacuation,  the  loyal  young  people  seem  to  have 
formed  a  sort  of  coterie  of  their  own,  that  made  it  easy  for 
their  scrupulous  parents  to  keep  away  "  the  lively  French 
and  the  gallant  Continentals";  but  in  New  York,  with  half- 
a-dozen  admirers  to  every  handsome  girl,  such  care  was  hope 
less.  "  You  cannot  imagine  what  a  superfluity  of  danglers 
there  is  here ;  so  that  a  lady  has  only  to  look  over  a  list  of  a 
dozen  or  two  when  she  is  going  to  walk,  or  to  dance,  or  to 
sleigh."  The  tory  manuscript  from  which  I  quote  gives 
animated  sketches  of  the  city  belles  of  this  day. 

"  Of  those  I  mentioned  to  you  before,  Miss  T—  -  is 
said  to  be  the  greatest  beauty :  tall,  genteel,  graceful  in  her 
motions,  with  fine,  light  hair,  dark  speaking  eyes,  a  complex 
ion  superior  to  the  boasted  one  of  Miss  K .  She  sel 
dom  fails  to  captivate  those  who  see  her ;  but  to  me  she  wants 
the  greatest  of  female  charms  :  she  wants  sensibility  of  fea 
tures.  Her  sister  less  celebrated  is  more  pleasing :  neither 
so  tall,  so  fair,  nor  so  regularly  featured,  I  would  sooner, 
were  I  to  offer  my  hand  to  a  lady's  person,  make  choice 
of  Miss  Betsy  T —  —  than  her  sister,  who  I  ought  to  have 
called  Mrs.  B . 

"  Miss  L ,  the  sentimental  Miss  L ,  is  tall  and  deli 
cate,  features  not  regular,  eyes  not  lively.  There  is  a  modest 
dignity  in  her  appearance  that  no  one  could  offend  —  it  is  the 
dignity  of  true  unaffected  innocence  and  simplicity. 

"  Mrs.  F 's  person  resembles  N P—  — 's :  of  course 

good,  but  she  is  not  that  beauty  I  expected  to  have  found. 
Her  complexion  is  pale,  her  hair  the  colour  of  Juliet's.  She 
appears  delicate  and  languishing,  and  she  has  the  misfortune 
of  having  a  fine  face  ruined  by  a  very  bad  mouth,  wide  and 
unexpressive.  ...  I  cannot  pretend  to  do  justice  to  the  Miss 
M s  :  —  Mild,  delicate,  thoughtful,  there  is  an  air  of  pen 
sive  languor  and  unaffected  modesty  over  the  whole  appear- 


NEW  YORK  IN   1778.  211 

ance  of  Miss  Beulah  that  would  awe  impudence  itself  into 
respect  and  sympathy.  Neither  tall,  fair  nor  genteel,  she 
pleases  the  more  for  being  the  more  uncommon  ;  and  with 
a  pair  of  eyes  that  cannot  strictly  be  called  handsome,  but 
which  say  everything  that  the  owner  pleases  —  a  forehead 
open  and  ingenuous  —  cheeks  that  bloom  continually  with  the 
softest  tints  of  the  rose,  and  a  mouth  formed  by  the  hands  of 
the  graces  — joined  to  an  abundance  of  dark  flowing  hair  — 
confirms  more  conquests  than  the  fluttering  blaze  of  Mrs. 
B or  the  tall  dignity  of  Mrs.  F are  ever  able  to  pro 
duce.  But  Susan  —  the  sweet,  sprightly,  amiable  Susan  — 
how  shall  I  describe  thee !  How  shall  I  paint  that  flow 
of  cheerfulness,  that  elegance,  natural  elegance,  of  expres 
sion  ;  that  wit,  that  sense,  that  sensibility,  that  modesty,  that 
good-nature,  and  that  winning  air  of  artless  youth  ;  every  one 
of  which  thou  possesses!  to  such  a  superior  degree  !  Still 
more  difficult  is  it  to  describe  a  person,  on  which  beauty  and 
gracefulness  have  been  lavished,  but  which  I  believe  never 
raised  in  thee  a  vain  idea  !  Eyes  large,  full,  black,  and  the 
most  expressive  I  ever  beheld :  fine  dark  hair :  a  faultless 
nose  —  but  it  is  in  vain  to  particularize  every  beauty  where 
all  is  beauty. 

"  —  Two  months  ago  one  of  the  plainest  little  mortals,  all 
awkwardness  and  simplicity,  without  a  thread  of  superfluity 
in  her  dress,  eloped  with  a  captain  in  the  army.  She  was 
just  come  to  town,  and  her  parents,  apprehensive  that  a  girl 
of  sixteen  could  not  be  safely  trusted  alone  in  a  place  so  full 
of  allurements,  guarded  her  with  the  most  peevish  caution. 
Before  they  heard  where  she  was  they  concluded  she  was 
locked  up,  murdered,  anything  sooner  than  in  the  company 
of  an  officer.  After  much  difficulty  and  negotiation  a  mar 
riage  was  effected,  and  Mrs.  C now  makes  her  entree  at 

public  places  in  all  the  elegance  of  fashion.     And  behold  the 

parents,  whose  name  is  P ,  are  now  '  under  dealings '  for 

consenting  to  the  marriage  of  their  daughter.  '  What  would 
you  have  done  in  such  a  case  ? '  1  asked  a  plain-coated  Friend. 


212  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRT-. 

*  Done  '  —  replied  the  benevolent  Christian  —  '  I  would  have 
cast  her  off  to  the  contempt  and  beggary  she  deserved  ! ' 
'  But  could  you  forget  she  was  your  child  ?  '  —  '  Yes,  I  would 
tear  the  remembrance  of  her  from  my  bosom  ! ' 

"  —  We  have  lately  had  one  admitted  into  that  mysterious 

order  :  a  Miss  P .  Yet  she  would  not  be  affronted  with 

the  a :  it  was  Miss  P celebrated  for  her  beauty,  wit, 

and  accomplishments  ;  indeed  so  immensely  sensible,  that  he 
was  thought  a  bold  officer  who  ventured  on  her.  It  was  the 
Hon.  Capt.  Smith,  eldest  son  of  Lord  Strangford  of  Ireland. 
All  the  observations  made  upon  her  since  are  that  her  eyes 
are  brighter  than  ever.  A  pretty  Miss  G —  —  of  the  age  of 
fourteen,  finding  marriages  so  very  fashionable  and  thinking 
them  very  clever,  eloped  with  a  Hessian  officer  for  want  of  a 
better.  Father  and  mother  as  usual  inconsolable  and  inex 
orable  :  '  Parents  have  flinty  hearts,  you  know,  and  children 
must  be  wretched.'  " 

Under  the  influences  that  then  prevailed  in  New  York  it 
was  fashionable  to  be  loyal ;  and  in  such  social  assemblies  as 
pretended  to  a  tone  of  literary  cultivation  we  can  easily  con 
ceive  that  Andre  would  not  fail  to  put  forth  what  power  of 
intellectual  entertainment  he  possessed.  Indeed,  his  pen  was 
probably  rarely  idle  ;  and  though  it  is  not  practicable  to  trace 
with  certainty  his  political  essays,  I  have  no  doubt  that  lie 
was  a  constant  contributor  to  the  pages  of  Rivington's  Ga 
zette.  Fortunately  we  are  able  to  identify  at  least  one  of 
these  papers,  from  which  a  fair  idea  of  his  manner  may  be 
inferred.  At  the  mansion  of  Mr.  Deane  he  is  related  to 
have  won  the  praises  of  both  sexes  by  an  extempore  upon 
Love  and  Fashion,  which  he  delivered  on  the  evening  of 
January  6th,  1779  ;  nor  was  a  Political  Dream,  that  he  also 
read  aloud  on  the  same  occasion,  less  applauded.  It  was  print 
ed  in  Rivington's  newspaper  shortly  afterwards  ;  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  author  was  anything  but  sparing  in  his  censure 
of  those  Americans  who  were  signalized  by  severity  against 
the  tories.  Chief-justice  McKean,  who  presided  at  the  con- 


ANDRE'S  POLITICAL  ESSAY.  213 

viction  of  Carlisle  and  Roberts,  two  Philadelphia  loyalists; 
Livingston  of  New  Jersey,  the  implacable  foe  of  toryism, 
and  the  supporters  of  our  cause  generally,  were  handled  with 
little  compunction  ;  and  the  concluding  paragraph  seems  even 
directed  against  his  own  former  patron  and  late  commander, 
Sir  William  Howe. 

A    DREAM. 

"  I  was  lately  in  company  where  the  Metempsychosis  be 
came  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  was  ably  explained  by 
a  gentleman  of  erudition,  who  traced  it  from  the  Brachmans 
in  the  East,  to  Pythagoras  in  the  west,  and  very  learnedly 
demonstrated  the  probability  and  justice  of  this  ancient  sys 
tem.  How  it  was  possible  to  deny  that  when  mankind  de 
graded  themselves  from  the  character  of  rational  beings,  it 
became  proper  that  they  should  assume  the  figure  of  those 
beasts  to  whose  properties  they  were  already  assimilated. 
On  the  other,  how  pleasing  was  it  to  trace  the  soul  through 
its  several  stages,  and  to  behold  it  rewarded  or  punished 
according  to  its  deserts  in  a  new  state  of  existence.  Many 
fanciful  observations  immediately  occurred  to  the  company. 
Besides  several  pair  of  turtle-doves,  some  cock  sparrows,  and 
one  or  two  butterflies  whom  we  found  among  our  acquaint 
ances,  we  were  led  to  take  a  survey  of  superior  characters. 
We  entertained  ourselves  with  viewing  the  soul  of  Louis 
XIV.  transmigrated  into  a  half-starved  jackass,  loaded  with 
heavy  panniers,  and  perpetually  goaded  by  a  meagre  French 
man,  who,  from  the  most  humble  of  his  slaves,  was  become 
the  master  and  tormentor  of  this  absolute  and  universal  mon 
arch.  Alexander  the  Great,  for  whose  ambitious  views  this 
whole  orb  had  been  too  confined,  was  changed  into  a  little 
sorry  horse,  and  doomed  to  spend  his  life  in  the  diurnal 
drudgery  of  turning  a  mill  to  which  he  was  constantly  fixed 
with  blinds  over  his  eyes.  Charles  of  Sweden  made  his 
appearance  in  the  figure  of  a  Russian  bear,  whilst  his  wiser 
competitor  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  warlike  and  industri 
ous  monarchy  of  bees.  The  poetical  soul  of  Sappho  con- 


214  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

tinued  to  warble  in  the  character  of  the  "  Love-lorn  Night 
ingale,"  and  that  of  our  countryman  Pope  (into  which  those 
of  Homer,  Horace,  Juvenal,  and  Lucretius  had  been  before 
blended  and  transfused)  was  again  revived  and  admired  in 
the  melodious  Swan  of  Twickenham. 

"  Full  of  the  ideas  which  this  singular  conversation  had 
suggested,  I  retired  to  my  chamber,  and  had  not  long  pressed 
the  downy  pillow  before  the  following  vision  appeared  to  my 
imagination :  — 

"  I  fancied  myself  in  a  spacious  apartment,  which  I  soon 
discovered  to  be  the  hall  wherein  the  infernal  judges  admin 
istered  justice  to  the  souls  which  had  animated  the  bodies  of 
men  in  the  superior  regions.  To  my  great  surprise,  instead 
of  those  grim  personages  which  I  had  been  taught  to  expect, 
I  found  the  judges  (who  were  then  sitting)  to  be  of  a  mild, 
gentle,  and  complacent  appearance,  unlike  many  dispensers 
of  justice  in  the  vital  air,  who  add  terror  to  severity,  and  by 
their  very  aspect  not  only  awe  the  guilty,  but  discourage  the 
innocent.  At  one  end  of  the  table,  after  a  short  interval, 
appeared  a  numerous  crowd  of  various  shades,  ushered  in 
and  conducted  by  Mercury,  whose  business  it  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  criminals  and  see  the  sentences  executed.  As 
dreams  are  of  an  unaccountable  nature,  it  will  not  (I  presume) 
be  thought  strange  that  I  should  behold  upon  this  occasion 
the  shades  of  many  men  who,  for  aught  I  know,  may  be  still 
living  and  acting  a  conspicuous  part  upon  the  worldly  theatre. 
But  let  this  be  as  it  will,  I  shall  go  on  to  relate  simply  what 
appeared  to  me,  without  troubling  myself  whether  it  may 
meet  with  credit  from  others. 

"  The  first  person  called  upon  was  the  famous  Chief-justice 
McKean,  who  I  found  had  been  animated  by  the  same  spirit 
which  formerly  possessed  the  memorable  Jeffries.  I  could 
not  but  observe  a  flash  of  indignation  in  the  eyes  of  the 
judges  upon  the  approach  of  this  culprit.  His  more  than 
savage  cruelty,  his  horrid  disregard  to  the  many  oaths  of 
allegiance  he  had  taken,  and  the  vile  sacrifice  he  had  made 


ACRE'S  POLITICAL  ESSAY.  215 

of  justice  to  the  interests  of  rebellion,  were  openly  rehearsed. 
Notwithstanding  his  uncommon  impudence,  for  once  he  seemed 
abashed,  and  did  not  pretend  to  deny  the  charge.  He  was 
condemned  to  assume  the  shape  of  a  blood-hound,  and  the 
souls  of  Roberts  and  Carlisle  were  ordered  to  scourge  him 
through  the  infernal  regions. 

"  Next  appeared  the  polite  and  travelled  Mr.  Deane,  who 
from  a  trickling,  hypocritical,  New  England  attorney,  was 
metamorphosed  into  a  French  marquis,  with  all  the  external 
frippery  that  so  eminently  distinguishes  the  most  trifling  char 
acters  of  that  trifling  nation.  The  judges  deliberated  for  a 
time  whether  they  should  form  their  sentence  from  the  bad 
ness  of  his  heart,  or  the  vanity  of  his  manners  ;  but  in  con 
sideration  of  the  many  mortifications  he  had  lately  experi 
enced,  they  at  length  determined  upon  the  latter,  and  the 
most  excellent  ambassador  to  his  most  Christian  majesty 
skipped  off,  with  very  little  change,  in  the  character  of '  The 
monkey  who  had  seen  the  world.' 

"  The  celebrated  Gen.  Lee,  whose  ingratitude  to  his  parent 
country  was  regarded  with  the  utmost  detestation,  assumed 
(by  direction  of  the  court)  the  figure  of  an  adder  :  a  reptile 
that  is  big  with  venom,  and  ready  to  wound  the  hand  that 
protects,  or  the  bosom  that  cherishes  it,  but  whose  poison 
frequently  turns  to  its  own  destruction. 

"  The  black  soul  of  Livingston,  which  was  '  fit  for  treason, 
sacrilege  and  spoil,'  and  polluted  with  every  species  of  mur 
der  and  iniquity,  was  condemned  to  howl  in  the  body  of  a 
wolf;  and  I  beheld,  with  surprise,  that  he  retained  the  same 
gaunt,  hollow,  and  ferocious  appearance,  and  that  his  tongue 
still  continued  to  be  red  with  gore.  Just  at  this  time,  Mer 
cury  touched  me  with  his  wand,  and  thereby  bestowed  an 
insight  into  futurity,  when  I  saw  this  very  wolf  hung  up  at 
the  door  of  his  fold,  by  a  shepherd  whose  innocent  flock  had 
been  from  time  to  time  thinned  by  the  murdering  jaws  of  this 
savage  animal. 

"  The  President  of  the  Congress,  Mr.  Jay,  next  appeared 


216  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    ANDRE. 

before  the  tribunal,  and  his  trial  was  conducted  with  all  the 
solemnity  due  to  so  distinguished  a  character.  I  heard,  with 
emotions  of  astonishment  and  concern,  that  in  various  human 
forms  he  had  been  remarkable  for  a  mixture  of  the  lowest 
cunning  and  most  unfeeling  barbarity  ;  that  having,  in  his 
last  shape,  received  from  nature  such  abilities  as  might  have 
rendered  him  useful  in  his  profession,  and  even  serviceable 
to  the  public,  he  had,  by  a  semblance  of  virtue,  acquired  the 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  which  he  afterwards  abused 
to  all  the  horrid  purposes  of  the  most  wanton  rebellion,  and 
that  being  indefatigable  in  the  pursuits  of  ambition  and 
avarice,  by  all  the  ways  of  intrigue,  perfidy,  and  dissimula 
tion,  he  had  acquired  the  station  of  a  chief  justice,  and,  in 
imitation  of  the  infamous  Dudley,  had  framed  and  enforced 
statutes  that  destroyed  every  species  of  private  security  and 
repose.  In  fine,  that  by  his  whole  conduct  he  had  exempli 
fied  his  own  maxim  that  princes  were  not  the  worst  and  most 
dreadful  of  tyrants,*  and  had  given  a  fresh  demonstration 
that  power  could  never  be  well  used  when  lodged  in  mean 
and  improper  hands. 

"  The  court  immediately  thought  fit  to  order  that  this 
criminal  should  transmigrate  into  the  most  insidious  and 
most  hateful  of  animals,  a  snake  ;  but  to  prevent  his  being 
able  any  longer  to  deceive,  and  thereby  destroy,  a  large  set 
of  rattles  was  affixed  to  his  tail,  that  it  might  warn  mankind 
to  shun  so  poisonous  a  being. 

"  The  whole  Continental  Army  now  passed  in  review  be 
fore  me.  They  were  forced  to  put  on  the  shape  of  the  timid 
hare,  whose  disposition  they  already  possessed.  With  ears 
erect,  they  seemed  watching  the  first  approach  of  danger,  and 
ready  to  fly  even  at  the  approach  of  it.  But  what  was  very 
singular,  a  brass  collar  was  affixed  to  the  neck  of  one  of  their 
leaders,  on  which  I  saw  distinctly  the  following  lines :  — 
'  Thcv  win  the  figlit,  that  win  the  race.' 

*  See  a  pamphlet  called  (I  think)  The  Nature  and  Extent  of  Parliamen 
tary  Power  considered. 


ANDRE'S  FAVOR  WITH  CLINTOX.  217 

Alluding  to  the  maxim  he  had  always  pursued,  of  making  a 
good  and  timely  retreat. 

"This  timorous  crew  having  hastily  retired,  I  beheld  a 
great  and  magnanimous  commander  of  antiquity,  transformed 
into  a  game-cock,  who  at  once  began  to  crow  and  strut  about 
as  if  he  was  meditating  a  combat,  but  upon  the  appearance 
of  a  few  cropple  crowned  hens,  he  dismissed  his  purpose,  and 
I  could  see  him  at  some  distance  from  the  hall,  brushing  his 
wing,  and  rustling  his  feathers  at  every  Dame  Partlet  in  the 
company.  The  oddity  of  this  transformation,  and  of  the  cir 
cumstances  attending  it,  excited  in  me  such  a  disposition  to 
laugh,  that  I  immediately  awakened,  and  was  forced  reluc 
tantly  to  resign  the  character  of  A  Dreamer" 

Andre's  conspicuous  merit  and  amiable  character  had  soon 
made  him  the  most  important  person  of  Clinton's  staff,  and 
won  the  admiration  of  all  who  had  business  with  the  General. 
He  would  promptly  inform  them  whether  or  not  he  could 
engage  in  their  affairs.  If  he  declined,  his  reasons  were  al 
ways  polite  and  satisfactory ;  if  he  consented,  the  applicant 
was  sure  of  an  answer  from  Sir  Henry  within  twenty-four 
hours.  Clinton's  confidence  was  evidenced,  in  the  spring  of 
1779,  by  his  appointment  of  Andre,  with  Colonel  West  Hyde 
of  the  Guards,  as  commissioners  to  negotiate  with  the  Amer 
icans  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  They  met  Colonels  William 
"Davies  and  Robert  H.  Harrison  on  our  behalf  at  Amboy,  on 
the  1 2th  May,  and  remained  till  the  23rd  in  a  fruitless  effort 
to  agree  upon  terms.  The  Americans  objected  in  the  first 
place  that  Clinton's  delegation  of  powers  for  a  general  per 
manent  cartel  were  insufficient.  Hyde  and  Andre  thought 
they  perceived  a  design  to  procure  the  introduction  of  terms 
in  their  commission  that  might  confess  the  Independence  of 
America,  and  stood  on  their  guard.  A  present  exchange 
was  then  considered ;  but  here  again  difficulties  arose  as  to 
giving  up  officers  and  men  together.  The  Americans  knew 
the  difference  between  the  value  of  their  own  soldiery,  whose 
enlistments  were  running  out,  and  those  of  the  enemy,  who 


218  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF,. 

would  at  least  serve  out  the  war  ;  and  no  terms  were  pro 
posed  by  either  side  that  the  other  would  accept.  The  busi 
ness  thus  ended,  Clinton  determined  to  open  the  campaign 
of  1779  with  a  blow  at  the  posts  on  Verplanck's  and  Stony 
Points,  which  commanded  King's  Ferry  and  the  opening 
passes  to  the  highlands.  Every  step  taken  at  New  York 
was  promptly  communicated  to  Washington  by  his  eificient 
spies  in  that  city  ;  and  he  had  good  cause  to  think  the  heavy 
forces  now  moving  were  not  to  be  confined  in  their  opera 
tions  to  the  mere  reduction  of  these  works,  but  were  ulti 
mately  designed  to  take  ground  that  would  interrupt  his 
communications  and  divide  his  army.  "  Washington  had  his 
cattle  from  the  Eastern  provinces,"  said  Clinton  in  regard  to 
the  campaign  of  1777,  "and  his  corn  from  the  Western. 
Could  we  have  taken  a  position  on  either  of  these  communi 
cations  we  might  have  risked  an  action  or  retired."  *  If  he 
now  aimed  at  West  Point,  however,  he  was  fated  to  be 
thwarted  by  the  active  providence  of  his  enemies. 

On  the  31st  May,  Clinton  debarked  a  little  below  Haver- 
straw,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  and  approached 
Stony  Point.  As  he  drew  near,  Collier  with  the  Vulture 
and  other  light  war-ships  came  also  in  sight,  and  the  unfin 
ished  works  were  with  hardly  a  show  of  opposition  aban 
doned  by  the  Americans.  Guns  were  at  once  haled  up  by 
the  British,  and  a  fire  opened  upon  Fort  La  Fayette  on  Ver 
planck's,  against  which  Vaughan  had  led  a  column  on  the 
eastern  shore.  During  the  night,  the  Vulture  and  a  galley 
anchored  above  the  fort,  and  so  cut  off  a  retreat  by  water. 
On  the  following  day,  unable  to  return  a  fire  equal  to  what, 
they  received,  the  little  garrison  beat  a  chamade.  The  bat 
teries  were  stilled,  and  Andre  was  dispatched  to  receive  the 
surrender. 

"  ON  THE  GLACIS  OF  FORT  FAYETTE,  June  1st,  1779. 

"  His  Excellency  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Commodore  Sir 
George    Collier  grant  to  the  garrison  of  Fort  La  Fayette 
*  Clinton  MS. 


SURRENDER  OF  FORT  LA  FAYETTE.       219 

terms  of  safety  to  the  persons  and  property  (contained  in  the 
fort)  of  the  garrison,  they  surrendering  themselves  prisoners 
of  war.  The  officers  shall  be  permitted  to  wear  their  side- 
arms.  JOHN  ANDR£,  Aid-de-Camp."  * 

The  possession  of  these  posts  was  of  no  little  importance 
to  either  army,  and  Clinton  remained  on  the  scene  long 
enough  to  put  them  in  condition  for  a  stout  defence.  Then 
he  left  garrisons,  and  descended  the  river.  On  the  night  of 
July  loth,  Stony  Point  was  retaken  by  Wayne.  Discipline, 
it  is  said,  was  so  relaxed  in  the  king's  army,  that  officers  en 
trusted  the  password  to  a  countryman  who  supplied  them 
with  fruit.  Having  thus  a  guide,  and  all  the  dogs  in  the 
country  round  being  killed  on  the  day  previous,  lest  their 
barking  should  betray  his  movements,  Wayne  silently  ad 
vanced.  The  outer  sentries  were  approached  and  gagged, 
and  after  a  sharp  but  short  resistance,  the  fort  was  stormed 
and  over  500  prisoners  taken.  These,  and  the  glory  of  an 
affair  which  was  justly  considered  one  of  the  most  gallant 
things  in  the  war,  were  all  the  advantages  gained  by  the 
stroke.  Circumstances  prevented  the  reduction  of  Fort  La 
Fayette.  Stony  Point  was  abandoned ;  and  the  British  put  a 
stronger  garrison  in  it  than  ever. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  campaign  Clinton  led  no  other 
expedition  in  person.  The  fortification  of  New  York  was 
carried  on  vigorously,  and  Andre's  labors  were  chiefly  those 
of  the  pen.  To  his  former  acquaintance  Miss  Shippen,  now 
the  wife  of  General  Arnold,  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 


*  This  transaction  was  ridiculed  by  an  American  writer  (perhaps  Gov. 
Livingston)  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  29th  Dec.  1779.  "  Sir  William 
Howe  could  not  have  invested  this  insignificant  place  with  more  unmean 
ing  formality.  Xo  display  of  ostentatious  arrangements  was  overlooked  on 
this  occasion;  and  Mr.  Andre",  your  aid,  as  if  in  compliance  with  the  taste 
of  his  General,  signed  a  capitulation,  in  all  the  pomp  of  a  vain-glorious 
solemnity  on  the  very  edge  of  the  glacis,  which  he  had  gained  under  cover 
of  a  flag-  What,  Sir  Henry,  could  you  intend  by  this  farce  ?  What  ex 
cuse  will  a  person  of  Mr.  Andrews  reputed  sense  find  for  this  parade?  " 


220  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  XEAV  YORK,  the  16th  Aug.  1779. 
"  MADAME.  —  Major  Giles  is  so  good  as  to  take  charge  of 
this  letter,  which  is  meant  to  solicit  your  remembrance,  and 
to  assure  you  that  my  respect  for  you,  and  the  fair  circle  in 
which  I  had  the  honour  of  becoming  acquainted  with  you, 
remains  unimpaired  by  distance  or  political  broils.  It  would 
make  me  very  happy  to  become  useful  to  you  here.  You 
know  the  Mesquianza  made  me  a  complete  milliner.  Should 
you  not  have  received  supplies  for  your  fullest  equipment 
from  that  department,  I  shall  be  glad  to  enter  into  the  whole 
detail  of  cap-wire,  needles,  gauze,  &c.,  and,  to  the  best  of  my 
abilities,  render  you  in  these  trifles  services  from  which  I 
hope  you  would  infer  a  zeal  to  be  further  employed.  I  beg 
you  would  present  my  best  respects  to  your  sisters,  to  the 
Miss  Chews,  and  to  Mrs.  Shippen  and  Mrs.  Chew.  I  have 
the  honour  to  be,  with  the  greatest  regard,  Madam,  your 
most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  ANDRE." 

In  March  or  April  of  this  year  General  Arnold,  com 
manding  at  Philadelphia,  had,  under  the  feigned  name  of 
Gustavus,  began  a  secret  correspondence  with  Clinton ;  who 
committed  the  matter  to  the  hands  of  Andre.  The  latter 
wrote  over  the  signature  of  John  Anderson  ;  and  was  replied 
to  as  "  Mr.  John  Anderson,  Merchant,  to  the  care  of  James 
Osborn,  to  be  left  at  the  Reverend  Mr.  Odell's,  New  York." 
Though  at  the  outset  the  English  had  no  clue  to  their  cor 
respondent's  identity,  the  character  and  value  of  his  informa 
tions  soon  led  them  to  suspect  it ;  and  it  is  supposed  by  some 
that  this  letter  to  Mrs.  Arnold  was  written  with  the  view  of 
making  clear  to  her  husband  the  character  of  its  author,  and 
to  invite  a  return  of  confidence.  This  may  possibly  have 
been  the  case ;  but  all  my  investigations  show  that  the  lady 
had  not  any  suspicion  of  the  dealings  between  the  parties,  or 
was  ever  intrusted  by  either  side  with  the  least  knowledge 
of  what  was  going  on.  Equally  false,  in  my  judgment,  is 


COMMENCEMENT   OF  ARNOLD'S   INTRIGUE.  221 

the  charge  that  she  tempted  her  husband  to  treason.  Her 
purity  and  elevation  of  character  have  not  less  weight  in  the 
contradiction  of  this  aspersion,  than  the  testimony  of  all 
chiefly  concerned  in  the  discovery  and  punishment  of  the 
crime. 

This  correspondence  must  have  engrossed  much  of  Andre's 
time.  His  letters  are  said  to  have  been  "  numerous  and 
significant " ;  though  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that,  so 
far  as  Mrs.  Arnold  was  concerned,  its  limit  ever  exceeded 
the  one  just  printed.  To  or  from  Arnold  he  at  this  period 
had  probably  nothing  of  a  precise  nature  either  to  suggest 
or  require.  The  earliest  communication  is  said  to  have  gen 
erally  recommended  to  the  American's  imitation  the  example 
of  Monk,  and  urged  his  intervention  to  procure  peace  on  a 
substantial  basis  for  his  unhappy  country.  The  distresses  of 
America,  the  power  of  England,  the  superiority  of  a  British 
to  a  French  and  Spanish  alliance  were  strongly  drawn  ;  and 
instead  of  the  old  colonial  subserviency,  it  was  insinuated 
that  the  continental  affairs  of  the  united  provinces  should  be 
committed  to  a  purely  national  council  resembling  the  Brit 
ish  parliament,  which  should  be  so  connected  with  the  throne 
that,  indissolubly  bound  together  in  the  chains  of  equality, 
of  commerce,  and  of  mutual  interest,  the  two  lands  should 
peacefully  govern  all  the  world.* 

Besides  the  labor  and  anxiety  of  this  intrigue,  Andre  had 
a  private  uneasiness  to  employ  his  mind.  In  July,  D'Es- 
taing  had  captured  Granada,  an  island  in  which  much  of  the 
family  estate  was  invested.  The  terms  offered  to  Macartney 
were  so  severe,  so  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  nations  and  the 
principles  of  justice,  that  the  governor  and  inhabitants  pre 
ferred  submitting  at  discretion.  On  taking  possession,  D'Es- 
taing  showed  little  lenity.  The  people  were  plundered  and 
abused  to  an  extent  that  persuaded  the  Count  Dillon  —  the 
most  distinguished  soldier  of  the  French  command  —  to  in 
tervene  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  for  their  protection. 

*  See  Appendix  No.  I. 


222  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDK& 

This  course,  in  such  direct  contrast  to  that  of  De  Bouille  in 
like  circumstances,  threatened  Andre  and  those  nearest  and 
dearest  to  him  with  early  poverty.  His  General,  however, 
though  tenderly  attached  to  him,  and  doubtless  entirely  sym 
pathizing  with  his  private  griefs,  seems  not  to  have  left  him 
their  undisputed  prey.  In  the  summer  heats  he  resorted  on 
occasions  to  the  cooler  shores  of  Long  Island.  Quogue  was 
one  of  his  haunts  ;  where  he  would  taste  the  sea  breezes,  and 
gather  for  his  table  every  delicacy  that  the  island  could  pro 
duce.  He  is  remembered  as  a  jovial  liver,  who  pushed  the 
bottle  freely  ;  while  Andre  with  his  bright,  fresh  face  and 
symmetrical  figure,  and  wearing  his  hair  unusually  long,  is 
described  by  an  islander  in  whose  house  he  passed  three 
nights,  as  presenting  "  the  finest  model  of  manly  beauty  he 
had  ever  seen."  About  this  period,  too,  circumstances  brought 
about  a  considerable  amelioration  of  his  professional  condi 
tion.  It  would  appear  that  without  the  knowledge  or  appro 
bation  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  the  Minister  had  established 
certain  points  of  provincial  rank  very  unsatisfactorily  to  the 
regular  corps.  In  bringing  about  this  step,  Innes,  Drum- 
mond,  and  the  adjutant-general  Lord  Rawdon  —  all  prime  fa 
vorites  of  Sir  Henry's  —  were  said  to  be  concerned.  His  in 
dignation  was  great,  and  the  offenders  were  made  to  feel  it. 
Rawdon  was  detached  from  head-quarters  to  the  South,  and 
his  duties  naturally  devolved  on  that  one  of  the  deputies  of 
the  office  who  enjoyed  the  most  confidential  relations  with 
Clinton.  This  was  no  other  than  Andre.  We  are  told  that 
Major  Stephen  Kemble,  the  brother-in-law  of  General  Gage, 
who  had  long  filled  the  deputy's  post,  had  written  to  some 
one  or  other  in  excessively  severe  terms  of  the  conduct  of  Sir 
Henry.  By  some  mischance  these  documents  were  made 
known  at  head-quarters.  The  writer  of  course  resigned  his 
office,  and  went  to  his  regiment  (the  60th)  in  the  West  In 
dies,  where  he  earned  promotion  and  distinction.  The  vacant 
deputy  adjutant-generalcy  was  forthwith  bestowed  upon  An 
dre  ;  and  thenceforward  all  the  business  at  head-quarters  of 


ANDR£  APPOINTED  DEPUTY  ADJUTANT-GENERAL.   223 

the  department  passed  through  his  hands.  Tt  was  thus  about 
the  beginning  of  the  fall  of  1779,  that  he  commenced  the 
virtual  discharge  of  the  adjutant-generalcy,  in  which  he  con 
tinued  till  his  death.  When  Clinton  had  dismissed  Lord 
Kawdon,  the  vacant  charge  was  pressed  on  Rawdon's  per 
sonal  friend,  Lieut.-Col.  Charles  Stuart,  of  the  26th,  whom 
delicacy  forced  to  refuse;  wherefore,  as  chief  deputy,  Andre 
went  on  with  all  its  duties  until  he  was  promoted  to  the  sta 
tion  itself,  as  well  as  its  responsibilities.  In  October,  his 
friend  Simcoe  was  captured,  returning  from  a  daring  enter 
prise  to  the  Raritan,  in  which  by  a  forced  march,  without  halt 
or  refreshment,  of  over  eighty  miles,  his  cavalry  burned  a 
number  of  large  flat-bottomed  boats,  built  for  an  expedition 
against  New  York.  Simcoe  was  treated  with  much  severity, 
which  was,  by  the  efforts  of  his  comrade  Andre,  and  his  cour 
teous  and  particular  opponent  Harry  Lee,  at  last  so  modified 
that  he  was  exchanged.  Andre,  setting  aside  for  the  time  a 
bold  but  well  conceived  plan  for  his  rescue,  wrote  proposing 
he  might  be  sent  to  New  York  on  parole,  as  by  similar  in 
dulgence  Colonel  Baylor  had  been  permitted  to  go  to  Vir 
ginia.  Simcoe  forwarded  this  application  from  the  state  of 
New  Jersey,  in  whose  power  he  was,  to  Washington,  and 
rather  complains  that  as  it  had  been  neglected  by  Governor 
Livingston,  so  it  was  unanswered  by  the  General ;  but  in  a 
day  or  two  after  he  was  sent  to  New  York.  Arriving  at 
Staten  Island,  December  31st,  he  found  Clinton  gone,  and 
the  chance  of  accompanying  him  lost.  A  letter  from  Andre 
was  put  into  his  hands  —  "  If  this  meets  you  a  free  man,  pre 
pare  your  regiment  for  embarkation,  and  hasten  to  New  York 
yourself."  On  the  26th,  Clinton  had  sailed  for  Charleston. 

The  war-ships  and  transports  of  this  expedition  were  com 
manded  by  Mariot  Arbuthnot,  Vice- Admiral  of  the  Blue,  an 
old  sailor,  an  amiable  man,  and  a  bad  tactician.  It  is  evi 
dent  that  Sir  Henry  and  himself  could  not  pull  together 
where  the  king's  service  was  concerned.  He  was  the  neph 
ew  of  "  Arbuthnot  the  polite,"  the  friend  of  Pope,  Swift,  and 


224  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRlL 

Gay,  the  famous  physician  of  Queen  Anne,  the  elegant  au 
thor  of  John  Bull ;  —  was  born  in  171 1 ,  and  died  in  1794.  His 
flag-ship  was  damaged  by  a  storm  on  the  voyage  ;  —  instead  of 
signalling  the  squadron  to  pursue  its  appointed  course,  he  led 
the  whole  convoy  after  himself,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the 
public  good.  "  The  good  old  Admiral  lost  his  bobstay  in  a 
gale  of  wind  —  bore  away  —  obliged  the  fleet  to  follow.  It 
got  into  the  gulf-stream,  and  bad  weather  did  the  rest."*  As 
a  consequence  it  was  not  until  January  31st,  1780,  that  a 
part  of  the  armament  reached  Savannah,  whither  such  of 
the  vessels  as  were  not  lost  followed.  A  captured  transport 
brought  into  Charleston,  on  the  23rd,  the  first  sure  tidings  of 
the  expedition. 

Notwithstanding  the  peculiar  importance  of  the  city  —  in 
a  manner  the  gate  of  the  South  —  Washington  was  always, 
it  is  said,  of  opinion  that  evacuation  was  preferable  to  an 
uncertain  defence.  He  would  rather  lose  a  town  than  an 
army.  The  possession  of  Charleston  had  hitherto  secured  to 
the  Americans  the  control  of  the  state  ;  but  since  Clinton's 
repulse  from  its  approaches  in  177G,  care  had  not  been  taken 
to  make  it,  as  its  value  deserved,  absolutely  impregnable. 
Nevertheless  its  works  were  strong.  Lying  between  the  in 
tersection  of  the  Cooper  and  Ashley  rivers,  it  could  only  be 
invested  by  land  upon  one  of  its  three  sides,  where  a  chain 
of  redoubts  and  batteries,  mounting  over  eighty  guns  and 
mortars,  and  stretching  from  stream  to  stream,  was  itself 
further  protected  by  a  double  abatis,  a  deep  water  canal  flow 
ing  from  Ashley  to  Cooper,  and  other  fortifications.  The 
Ashley  shore  was  lined  with  batteries  with  fifty  guns  ;  on 
that  of  the  Cooper,  thirty-three  were  mounted  ;  and  across  its 
mouth  was  a  boom  composed  of  eight  sunken  vessels,  with 
chains,  cables,  and  spars  lashed  between  their  lower  masts. 
Five  armed  ships  with  124  guns,  and  some  galleys,  were  ar 
rayed  behind  this  cheval-de-frise.  The  fortifications  on  the 
island  in  the  harbor  were  also  strong  and  in  good  condition  ; 

*  Clinton  MS. 


SIEGE  OF  CHARLESTON.  225 

and  it  was  not  thought  probable  that  a  hostile  fleet  could 
come  up  to  the  town. 

Having,  by  aid  of  the  loyalists,  obtained  horses  (all  that  he 
sailed  with  being  lost  at  sea),  Clinton  on  the  llth  of  February 
landed  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Charleston,  and  easily  and 
deliberately  approached  the  city.  He  waited  reinforcements, 
and  thus  gave  Lincoln  time  to  increase  his  defences.  "  Ev 
ery  delay  proved  of  use,"  says  Sir  Henry  ;  "  it  induced  Lin 
coln  to  collect  his  whole  force  at  Charleston,  and  put  the  fate 
of  both  Carolinas  on  that  of  the  town."*  On  the  29th  of 
March,  the  British  passed  Ashley  River,  ten  miles  above  the 
city,  under  the  guidance  of  Captain  Elphinstone  of  the  navy ; 
and  on  April  1st  broke  ground  before  our  lines.  The  fleet 
meanwhile  had  forced  its  way  up,  shutting  out  relief  from  the 
sea ;  and  on  the  14th,  the  only  communication  that  had  still 
been  kept  open  was  closed  by  the  enterprise  of  Tarleton.  f 

The  city  was  defended,  as  nearly  as  can  be  computed,  by 
about  2600  regulars  and  upwards  of  3000  local  or  other 
militia,  among  whom  was  perhaps  Andrew  Jackson,  the 
future  soldier  and  ruler  of  the  Union.  There  were  besides 
about  1000  armed  sailors ;  so  that  the  whole  defensive  force 
was  called  7000.  The  enemy's  strength  was  probably  but 
little  greater.  "  They  had  7000,"  —  says  Clinton,  —  "  we  not 
more  than  5000."  j  But  he  does  not  appear  to  include 
herein  the  2500  men  that  reinforced  him  from  New  York. 

About  this  time  Andre  wrote  as  follows,  apparently  to  the 
adjutant  of  the  garrison  at  Savannah :  — 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS  BEFORE  CHARLESTON,  the  13th  April,  1780. 
"  SIR  :  I  shall  be  much  obliged  to  you  to  find  out  for  me 

*  Clinton  MS. 

f  "  Captain  Elphinstone  had  infinite  merit  from  the  hour  of  our  starting 
from  Savannah  to  our  reduction  of  Charleston ;  at  the  siege  of  which  he 
commanded  a  detachment  of  the  royal  navy.  .  .  .  This  does  infinite  credit 
to  Col.  Tarleton.  His  officer-like  decision  gained  the  advantage  —  the  only 
chance  we  had  of  passing  the  Cooper."  —  Clinton  3IS. 

J  Clinton  MS. 

15 


226  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDR&. 

whether  such  a  person  as  is  herein  described  has  ever  been 
prisoner  in  your  hands,  and  what  has  become  of  him ;  as  I 
am  requested  by  some  of  my  relations  to  make  this  inquiry. 
I  have  received  your  several  letters,  and  shall  inform  the  Gen 
eral  of  the  resignation  you  make  of  your  pretensions  to  pur 
chase  Major  Van  Braam's  commission,  and  also  of  the  suc 
cession  proposed  of  Ens.  Fatio  and  Mr.  Clarke  to  Captain 
Garden.  By  a  letter  received  from  Col.  Steil  I  find  Mr. 
De  Crousac  recommended  to  succeed  in  a  vacant  Lieuten 
ancy.  I  fear  this  young  gentleman  has  been  wronged,  from 
his  never  having  been  heard  of.  He  may  however  I  hope 
be  redressed  by  filling  the  vacancy  of  Lieut.  Maltey,  resigned. 

"  I  must  beg  you  to  observe  that  the  Fortnight  States  are 
to  be  signed  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the  troops,  and  not 
by  the  Deputy  Adjutant  General :  which  I  request  you  to 
be  kind  enough  to  rectify  in  the  future  ones  to  be  transmitted. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most 
humble  servant,  JOHN  ANDRE,  Dy.  A.  Gen. 

"  Be  so  good,  Sir,  as  to  omit  no  opportunity  of  sending 
convalescents  here.  A  vessel  may  possibly  be  sent  round  to 
receive  them  —  but  Gen.  Prevost  will  I  dare  say  in  the  mean 
time  dispatch  what  he  can." 

On  the  6th  May  the  third  parallel  was  finished,  and  the 
British  thus  enabled  to  sap  the  waters  of  the  canal,  which 
was  then  made  a  cover  for  their  Yagers  to  gall  with  close 
rifle-shots  the  defenders  of  the  lines ;  while  balls,  bombs,  car 
casses  and  fireballs  were  showered  on  the  town.  The  fire- 
brigade  was  in  constant  service  ;  and  wherever  the  enemy 
saw  by  the  smoke  that  they  had  kindled  a  house,  there  they 
would  drop  a  bomb.  As  provisions  began  to  run  short  with 
the  besieged,  a  shell  filled  with  rice  and  molasses  was  thrown 
in  delicate  raillery  into  their  ranks;  and  in  the  same  spirit 
was  returned  charged  with  sulphur  arid  hog's  lard  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Scots  regiments.  Desertions  were  not  numer 
ous,  though  there  were  sufficient  facilities  for  stealing  through 


THE  FALL   OF  CHARLESTON.  227 

the  investments  to  enable  Du  Portail  to  be  conveyed  into 
the  town  after  the  last  parallel  was  begun.  Late  as  it  was, 
this  officer  advised  an  immediate  evacuation  ;  but  the  wishes 
of  the  citizens  and  the  hopes  of  relief  prevailed  on  Lincoln 
to  hold  out.  On  the  10th  April  he  had  refused  to  yield;  on 
the  8th  May  he  was  again  summoned  to  surrender  a  post  that 
was  rapidly  ceasing  to  be  tenable.  As  he  would  not  accept 
the  proposed  terms,  the  siege  was  continued  until  the  llth, 
when  he  notified  Clinton  of  his  willingness  to  receive  them. 
Though  it  was  now,  by  their  own  opinion,  optional  with  the 
English  to  storm  the  town  or  insist  on  its  surrender  at  dis 
cretion,  a  milder  counsel  prevailed.  As  might  be  expected, 
the  capitulation  was  disadvantageous  to  the  garrison.  Their 
necessities  and  the  laws  of  war  entitled  Clinton  to  prescribe 
hard  conditions  ;  but  the  most  bitter  pill  to  swallow  must 
have  been  the  manner  of  surrender.  Lincoln  had  demanded 
to  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war  —  drums  beating,  colors 
flying,  and  shouldered  arms.  It  was  answered  that  when 
the  arms  were  grounded  his  colors  should  not  be  uncased, 
nor  should  his  drums  beat  a  British  or  German  march.* 
The  garrison,  consisting  of  every  adult  who  had  borne  arms 
in  the  defence  of  the  town,  became  prisoners  of  war ;  and  on 
the  12th  May  Clinton  took  possession. 

The  fall  of  Charleston  was  a  dreadful  blow  to  America, 
and  its  results  were  of  the  highest  importance.  That  he  did 
not  yield  till  the  last  moment  is  undoubtedly  true,  unless  we 
receive  Napoleon's  axiom  that  no  fortification  should  succumb 
without  at  least  one  assault ;  but  it  ought  not  to  have  been 
defended  at  all,  unless  successfully.  The  wishes  and  the 
gallantry  of  the  citizens  and  the  failure  of  expected  succor, 
apologize  for  Lincoln's  fatal  error  of  judgment.  On  the 
other  hand,  this  event  must  always  be  esteemed  a  great 
credit  to  Clinton.  The  siege  was  well-conceived,  and  ex- 

*  This  severity  was  exactly  retorted  at  Yorktown,  when  Cornwallis's 
troops  were  compelled  to  march  out  with  colors  cased  and  drums  beating 
neither  a  French  or  American  march. 


228  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRlL 

ecuted  in  the  best  vein  of  military  judgment.  With  a  force 
numerically  not  exceeding  that  of  his  foe,  and  with  but 
trifling  loss  to  himself,  he  compelled  nearly  7000  men 
strongly  fortified  to  lay  down  their  arms.* 

After  the  fall  of  the  city,  we  are  told  that  there  was  an 
opinion  current  in  our  army  that  Andre  had  been  present  in  its 
lines  during  the  siege  as  a  spy  ;  and  in  1822  it  was  declared 
that  two  gentlemen  of  repute  still  surviving  at  Charleston, 
affirmed  at  least  the  existence  of  the  report  in  1780.  One  of 
these  had  been  an  officer  of  Clinton's  ;  the  other,  a  resident  of 
the  place  through  and  after  the  siege.  Another  witness  goes 
further.  Edward  Shrewsberry,  a  suspected  tory,  but  of  good 
condition,  was  ill  at  his  house  in  East  Bay.  His  brother,  a 
whig,  leaving  the  lines  to  visit  him,  found  repeatedly  there  a 
young  man  clad  in  homespun,  to  whom  he  was  introduced  as 
a  Virginian  belonging  to  the  troops  then  in  the  city ;  and  as 
such  he  considered  the  stranger.  After  the  capitulation,  meet 
ing  the  same  person  at  the  same  place,  he  was  again  present 
ed  to  him  as  Major  Andre ;  and  taxing  his  brother  with  the 
identity  of  the  two  characters,  they  were  confessed  to  have 
been  one  and  the  same  man.  To  another  visitor,  his  son 
records  that  the  stranger  in  homespun  had  been  represented 
"  as  a  back  countryman,  who  had  brought  down  cattle  for  the 
garrison  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,"  —  an  assertion 
that  passed  unsuspected  and  unchallenged  until  months  after, 
when  Andre  had  been  hanged  and  the  visitor  who  related 
the  story  was  returned  from  confinement  at  St.  Augustine's. 
when  the  whig  Shrewsberry  informed  him  that  the  cattle- 
driver  he  had  seen  with  his  brother  was  no  other  than  Ma 
jor  Andre  in  disguise.  These  declarations,  coming  from 
distinct  and  respectable  sources,  seem  to  bear  the  marks  of 
truth ;  and  that  the  circumstance,  if  it  really  occurred,  was 
not  singular,  appears  from  the  case  of  Col.  Hamilton  Ballcn- 

*  The  Return  of  prisoners  to  the  army  at  the  surrender,  May  12th,  1780, 
is  signed  by  Andre,  as  Deputy  Adjutant-General.  Those  made  by  tin 
Fleet,  including  seamen,  &c.,  do  not  figure  therein.  —  Rememb.  x.  76. 


A  SPY  AT  CHARLESTON.  229 

dine,  who,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  siege,  fell  into  an 
American  picket  that  he  mistook  for  Clinton's.  When  chal 
lenged,  he  gave  his  name  in  reply ;  and  being  told  that  was 
not  sufficient,  he  produced  from  his  pocket  draughts  of  the 
American  works  that  he  had  made  or  obtained.  He  was 
informed  of  his  error  as  to  the  party  of  the  captors,  and  sent 
to  Lincoln,  by  whose  orders  he  was  instantly  hanged.  It  is 
but  just  to  add  that,  if  this  story  of  Andre's  having  been  a 
spy  at  Charleston  received  credence  in  respectable  quarters, 
it  was  afterwards  questioned  by  gentlemen  of  equal  character 
in  our  service. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Clinton    returns  to  New  York.  —  Proposed  Attack  on  Rochambeau.  — 
Plans  for  a  Loyal  Uprising.  —  Anecdotes  of  Andre1.  — The  CoAV-Chase. 

DURING  Clinton's  absence,  the  unusual  severity  of  the 
winter  had  frozen  the  waters  about  New  York  so  firmly 
that  the  whole  train  of  our  army  might  safely  have  passed 
over.  Lest  such  an  attempt  should  be  made,  the  loyal  in 
habitants  petitioned  to  be  embodied  ;  and  an  additional  force 
of  nearly  GOOO  men  was  thus  arrayed  for  the  defence  of  the 
city,  of  whom  about  1000  were  armed  and  uniformed  at  their 
own  cost  —  "  many  of  the  most  respectable  citizens  serving 
in  the  ranks  of  each  company."  There  was  apparent  need 
for  this  display  when  the  Hudson  to  Paulus  Hook  presented 
a  causeway  of  ice  of  but  2000  yards  from  shore  to  shore  ; 
but  unfortunately  the  miserable  state  of  our  army  prevented 
any  advantage  from  the  opportunity  being  taken.  The 
spirits  of  the  loyalists,  however,  were  wonderfully  cheered 
by  these  musterings ;  many  deserters  and  others  came  in 
from  Jersey,  where  Chief-justice  Smith  advised  Knyphausen 
now  to  raise  the  royal  standard,  in  the  idea  that  militia  and 
continentals  would  hasten  to  join  it,  and  the  state  be  subdued 
before  Clinton's  return  and  without  his  aid.  This  plan  was 
tried  on  June  7th,  but  nothing  came  of  it ;  the  English  re 
turned  after  some  plundering  and  skirmishing  with  a  loss  of 
500  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  and  closely  observed  by 
Washington's  army,  now  reduced  to  but  3000  or  4000  men. 

Leaving  4000  men  with  Cornwallis,  and  Carolina  and 
Georgia  to  all  appearance  entirely  reduced,  Sir  Henry  hur 
ried  back  to  New  York  ;  justly  apprehending  a  design  of  the 
French  armament  now  on  the  coast  to  make  with  Washing- 


BRITISH  MOVEMENTS.  231 

ton  a  conjoined  attack  on  his  lines.  In  fact  his  convoy  had 
already  been  in  the  power  of  the  French  as  it  passed  the 
Chesapeake,  and  had  only  escaped  by  De  Ternay's  mistak 
ing  the  large  troop-ships  for  firstrates.  On  the  12th  July, 
Rochambeau's  men  were  in  Newport  harbor. 

Clinton's  first  design,  to  fall  at  once  on  Washington  or 
West  Point,  was  thwarted  by  the  inopportune  and  prolonged 
absence  of  Knyphausen.  "  This  premature  move  in  Jersey, 
at  a  time  when  Sir  H.  Clinton  least  expected  it,  prevented  a 
combined  move  against  Washington  that  might  have  been 
decisive  : "  —  and  Washington  himself  wrote  that  their  com 
bination  would  make  the  British  "  equal  to  almost  anything 
they  may  think  proper  to  attempt."  *  The  next  thought  was 
to  carry  the  French  position  at  Newport  by  a  coup-de-main. 
Arbuthnot  was  solicited  ere  yet  their  arrival  was  known  to 
have  transports  in  readiness  for  6000  men.  On  the  18th 
July,  news  of  their  position  was  conveyed  to  him  by  Clinton, 
and  means  of  embarkation  pressingly  called  for.  These, 
however,  were  so  long  in  coming  that  not  till  the  27th  was 
the  army  embarked  on  the  Sound,  and  conveyed  to  Hunting 
don  Bay ;  where  it  awaited  the  return  of  a  vessel  despatched 
by  Sir  Henry  to  the  Admiral  blockading  the  French  at  New 
port.  Meantime  Rochambeau  had  so  strengthened  his  works 
with  heavy  guns  and  mortars,  and  furnaces  for  heating  balls, 
that  a  joint  attack  of  army  and  fleet  was  deemed  out  of  the 
question,  and  the  moment  for  a  coup-de-main  long  gone  by. 
Sorely  disappointed  and  with  not  a  little  grumbling  the  troops 
on  the  31st  returned  to  Whitestone.f  They  burned  for  an 

*  Clinton  MS.  Marshall,  iv.  c.  5. 

t  Stedm.  ii.  246.  —  "  Mr.  Stedman  seems  totally  ignorant  of  the  object  of 
this  move.  It  had  been  proposed  that  6000  men  under  Sir  H.  Clinton  should 
have  been  landed  in  Escort  Passage  to  meet  the  French  on  their  embarka 
tion  [debarkation?]:  but  as  the  Admiral  was  not  informed  of  their  arrival 
till  ten  days  after,  and  that  they  had  been  reinforced  and  had  had  time  to 
fortify,  it  would  not  have  been  quite  so  prudent  for  the  army  alone  to  at 
tempt  :  —  and  if  the  Admiral  had  seen  the  propriety  of  taking  an  active 
part  with  the  Xavy,  he  would  have  accepted  the  proposal  of  Sir  H.  C.  This 
is  all  that  need  be  said,  and  perhaps  Mr.  Stedmaii  affords  us  the  best  reason 


232  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXUIl£. 

equal  encounter  with  the  French  ;  and  officers  applied  to  the 
adjutant-general  as  an  especial  favor  for  such  employment. 
"  The  General  assures  you,"  he  replied  to  Simcoe,  "  that  the 
Rangers  shall  be  pitted  against  a  French  regiment  the  first 
time  he  can  procure  a  meeting."  These  regiments  were  the 
Bourbonnais,  Soissonnais,  Santonge,  and  Deux  Ponts ;  and 
Lauzun's  Legion. 

Among  other  objects  that  now  commanded  Andre's  atten 
tion  was  a  correspondence  with  the  chief  tories  of  that  loyal 
region  lying  between  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  bays  ; 
which  was  intended  to  terminate  in  the  successful  uprising 
of  several  thousand  men  in  arms  for  the  king,  under  the  pro 
tection  of  a  strong  British  detachment.  There  were  great 
hopes  of  this  measure  when  matters  should  be  ripe,  for  the 
district  was  populous  and  unquestionably  abundant  in  loy 
alists  ;  but  it  was  nipped  by  unforeseen  events. 

Various  anecdotes  are  preserved  that  show  with  what 
gentleness  of  spirit  Andre  bore  his  honors.  When  Lamb, 
one  of  the  Convention  troops  of  Saratoga,  escaped  from  his 
officers  and  from  the  Americans  —  "  honorable  desertions," 
Burgoyne  called  them,  since  instead  of  being  allowed  to  go 
to  England  as  the  capitulation  provided,  Congress  retained 
them  prisoners  for  exchange  —  and  with  a  party  of  his  com 
rades  was  sheltered  by  the  country  people  till  he  got  to  New 
York,  he  was  received  at  Head-quarters  by  Andre,  who  tak 
ing  him  into  the  parlor,  closely  questioned  him  of  his  route, 
his  risks,  the  numbers  of  the  Americans,  their  treatment  of 
prisoners,  &c. ;  and  finally  rewarded  himself  and  his  com 
rades  in  Sir  Henry's  name,  and  proffered  them  either  a  free 
passage  home  or  service  in  any  regiment  they  chose.  Of  his 
lenity  to  prisoners  also  we  have  a  trivial  but  doubtless  au 
thentic  anecdote  from  a  Mr.  Drewy. 

for  not  attempting  anything."  —  Clinton  MS.  "  It  was  reported  some 
time  after  that  the  French  were  in  such  consternation  at  being  blocked  up 
bv  a  superior  fleet,  that  had  we  proceeded,  at  our  arrival  they  would  have 
run  their  ships  aground  and  thrown  their  guns  overboard."  —  J/£>.  Journal, 
Lt.  Mathew,  Coldstream  Guards. 


ANECDOTES   OF   ANDRE.  233 

"  A  foraging  party  from  New  York  made  an  inroad  into 
our  settlement  near  that  city.  The  neighbours  soon  as 
sembled  to  oppose  them  ;  and  though  not  above  fifteen  years 
old,  I  turned  out  with  my  friends.  In  company  was  another 
boy,  in  age  and  size  nearly  my  own  speed.  We  had  counted 
on  a  fine  chase  ;  but  the  British  were  not  to  be  driven  so 
easily  as  we  had  expected.  Standing  their  ground,  they  not 
only  put  us  to  flight,  but  captured  several  of  our  party ;  my 
self  and  the  other  boy  among  them.  They  presently  set  off 
with  us  for  New  York  :  and  all  the  way  as  we  were  going, 
my  heart  ached  to  think  how  distressed  my  poor  mother  and 
sisters  would  be  when  night  came  and  I  did  not  return. 
Soon  as  they  brought  me  in  sight  of  the  prison,  I  was  struck 
with  horror.  The  gloomy  walls  and  frightful  guards  at  the 
doors  and  wretched  crowds  at  the  iron  windows,  together 
with  the  thoughts  of  being  locked  up  there  in  dark  dungeons 
with  disease  and  death,  so  overcame  me  that  I  bursted  into 
tears.  Instantly  a  richly  dressed  officer  stepped  up,  and 
taking  me  by  the  hand,  with  a  look  of  great  tenderness 
said,  —  *  My  dear  boy,  what  makes  you  cry  ? '  I  told  him 
I  could  not  help  it,  when  I  compared  my  present  sad  pros 
pect  with  the  happy  one  I  enjoyed  in  the  morning  with  my 
mother  and  sisters  at  home.  'Well,  well,  my  dear  child,' 
said  he,  '  don't  cry,  don't  cry  any  more.'  Then  turning  to 
the  jailer  ordered  him  to  stop  till  he  should  come  back.  I 
was  struck  with  the  wonderful  difference  between  this  man 
and  the  rest  around  me.  He  appeared  to  me  like  a  brother ; 
they  like  brutes.  I  asked  the  jailor  who  he  was.  '  Why, 
that's  Major  Andre,'  said  he  angrily,  *  the  adjutant-general 
of  the  army ;  and  you  may  thank  your  stars  that  he  saw 
you  ;  for  I  suppose  that  he  has  gone  to  the  general  to  beg 
you  off,  as  he  has  done  many  of  your rebel  country 
men.'  In  a  short  time  he  returned,  and  with  great  joy  in 
his  countenance  called  out  — '  Well,  my  boys,  I've  good 
news  for  you  !  The  General  has  given  you  to  me,  to  dispose 
of  as  I  choose ;  and  now  you  are  at  liberty.  So  run  home 


234  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

to  your  fond  parents,  and  be  good  boys :  mind  what  they  tell 
you ;  say  your  prayers ;  love  one  another ;  and  God  Al 
mighty  will  bless  you.' " 

The  month  of  July,  1780,  furnished  Andre  with  an  occa 
sion  for  the  best  known  of  his  verses,  which  seem  to  have 
been  written  as  much  to  gratify  his  own  keen  perception  of 
the  ludicrous  as  to  retaliate  in  kind  the  satirical  assaults  that 
were  made  by  the  other  side  upon  himself  and  his  friends. 
On  the  20th,  our  army  was  stationed  in  the  upper  part  of 
Bergen  county,  New  Jersey  ;  and  St.  Clair  having  the  light 
infantry  during  La  Fayette's  visit  to  Rochambeau,  Wayne  of 
course  commanded  the  Pennsylvania  line.  With  its  two 
brigades,  some  guns  of  Proctor's  artillery,  and  Moylan's  dra 
goons,  amounting  in  all,  perhaps,  to  less  than  2000  men,  he 
started  from  camp  on  an  expedition  that  would  have  long  ago 
been  forgotten  but  for  the  comic  strain  in  which  a  foeman 
commemorated  its  results.*  The  object  was  to  harry  Bergen 

*  The  composition  of  the  Cow-Chase  may  have  been  suggested  by  the 
fact  that  Andre"  had  boarded  with  John  Thompson,  the  woodcutting  agent 
at  New  York.  He  also  probably  visited  the  scene  of  action  with  Clinton. 
The  piece  was  written  at  Head-quarters,  No.  1,  Broadway,  and  was  given 
for  publication  to  Rivington,  whose  Gazette  was  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the 
whigs  of  the  neighborhood.  Among  his  friends  he  was  a  merry,  jovial, 
companionable  person  enough;  but  to  his  enemies  he  was  a  perfect  pest. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Witherspoon,  in  his  pretended  recantation  of  Towne,  says:  — 
"  However,  take  it  which  way  you  will,  there  never  was  a  lie  published  in 
Philadelphia  that  could  bear  the  least  comparison  with  those  published  by 
James  Rivington  in  New  York.  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  be  imputed  to 
the  superiority  not  of  the  printer,  but  of  the  prompter  or  prompters.  I 
reckon  Mr.  Tryon  to  have  excelled  in  that  branch,  and  probably  he  had  many 
coadjutors.  What  do  you  think  of  40,000  Russians,  and  20,000  Moors,  which 
Moors  too  were  said  by  Mr.  Rivington  to  be  dreadful  among  the  women  ? 
as  also  of  the  boats  building  at  the  forks  of  Monongahela  to  carry  the 
Congress  down  the  river  to  New  Orleans?  These  were  swingers."  —  He 
made  great  fun  too  of  Governor  Livingston,  who  had  imprudently  taken 
the  pen  against  him.  "  If  Rivington  is  taken,  I  must  have  one  of  his  ears; 
Gov.  Clinton  is  entitled  to  the  other;  and  General  Washington,  if  he 
pleases,  may  take  his  head,"  writes  Livingston  in  1780;  and  if  the  Cow- 
Chase  was  felt  nowhere  else,  it  hit  hard  here.  Fifty  years  after,  Livings 
ton's  descendant  and  biographer  comments  on  "  the  scurrilous  and  abusive 
Cow-Chase,  which  no  one  can  read  without  lessening  his  sympathy  for  the 


THE  COW-CHASE.  235 

Neck  and  to  break  up  a  blockhouse  at  Bull's  Ferry  by  Fort 
Lee,  where  seventy  refugees  under  Cuyler  were  posted  to 
protect  the  British  woodcutters ;  and  to  disperse  any  forces 
that  might  be  found  in  the  vicinity.  But  Cuyler  defended 
himself  most  spiritedly,  though  his  wooden  walls  were  pierced 
with  fifty-two  cannon  balls  in  one  face  only ;  and  when 
Wayne  retired,  hung  on  his  skirts,  seizing  stragglers,  and 
rescuing  some  of  the  spoil.  His  loss  was  twenty-one  killed 
and  wounded ;  Wayne's  being  sixty-four.  To  the  survivors 
of  "  the  brave  Seventy  "  the  king  conveyed  his  especial  ap 
proval  of  their  valor  and  fidelity. 

It  is  hardly  needful  to  observe  that  this  poem  —  which, 
says  Mr.  Sparks,  with  much  that  is  crude  and  coarse,  contains 
several  stanzas  of  genuine  humor  and  satire  —  is  modelled  on 
Chevy  Chase.  The  manuscript  copy  as  well  as  the  original 
editions  have  several  notes,  that  are  distinguished  here  from 
my  own  by  being  put  in  brackets.  In  retort  to  the  names  be 
stowed  on  the  airs  in  vogue  at  American  festivities,  a  writer 
in  Rivington's  paper  suggested  that  the  managers  of  the  Phil- 
unfortunate  Andre,"  apropos  of  Stirling  who  had  intermarried  with  the 
family.  The  poem  was  written  and  printed  at  intervals ;  the  first  canto 
appearing  on  the  16th  August,  the  second  on  the  30th,  and  the  third  on  the 
23rd  Sept.  1780.  Dunlap  reports  that  Rivington  said  he  received  the  last 
canto  from  the  author  on  the  day  before  he  set  out  to  meet  Arnold ;  it  was 
published  on  the  very  day  of  his  capture ;  which  must  have  contributed  to 
the  great  vogue  it  has  always  obtained.  I  have  printed  the  version  in  this 
volume  from  Andrews  original  autograph  MS.,  collated  with  these  editions. 
Cow-Chase,  in  Three  Cantos,  Published  on  Occasion  of  the  Rebel  General 
"Wayne's  Attack  of  the  Refugees'  Block-House  on  Hudson's  River,  On  Fri 
day  the  21st  of  July,  1780.  New  York:  Rivington,  1780,  8vo.  pp.  69:  — 
and  The  Cow-Chase,  an  Heroick  Poem,  in  Three  Cantos.  "Written  at  New 
York,  1780,  by  the  late  Major  Andre",  with  Explanatory  Notes  by  the 
Editor. 

"  The  man  who  fights  and  runs  away, 

';  May  live  to  fight  another  day," 
Said  Butler  in  his  deathless  lay. 

"  But  he  who  is  in  battle  slain 

"  Can  never  rise  to  fight  again  ;  " 
As  wisely  thought  good  General  Wayne. 

London;  Fielding,  1781.  4to.  pp.  32.  It  is  also  printed  by  Dunlap,  with 
his  tragedy  of  Andre",  (Lond.  1799,)  and  in  Moore's  Bal.  Rev. 


236  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

adelphia  Assembly  Balls  should  thenceforth  add  to  the  tunes 
of  Burgoyne's  Surrender,  Clinton's  Retreat,  and  the  like,  the 
new  dancing-measure  of  A  Trip  to  the  Block-House,  or  The 
Woodcutter's  Triumph. 


THE   COW-CHASE. 

CANTO    I. 

ELIZABETH-TOWN,  August  1, 1780. 

To  drive  the  kine  one  summer's  morn 

The  Tanner  took  his  way  ;  * 
The  calf  shall  rue,  that  is  unborn, 

The  jumbling  of  that  day. 

And  Wayne  descending  steers  shall  know, 

And  tauntingly  deride ; 
And  call  to  mind,  in  every  low, 

The  tanning  of  his  hide. 

Let  Bergen  cows  still  ruminate, 

Unconscious  in  the  stall 
What  mighty  means  were  used  to  get  — 

And  lose  them  after  all. 

For  many  heroes  bold  and  brave 
From  New  Bridge  and  Tapaan  ;  t 


*  [General  Wayne's  legal  occupation.]  By  the  way,  this  order  may  ex 
plain  the  last  scenes  of  the  cattle  taken:  —  "One  of  the  drafts  acquainted 
with  the  management  of  hides  and  tallow  from  each  wing  to  be  sent  to 
the  Commissary  of  Hides  at  the  Magazine." — MS.  Am.  Orderly-book, 
Aug.  11,  1780. 

i  [Village  in  New  Jersey]  on  Wayne's  line  of  march. 


THE  COW-CHASE.  237 

And  those  that  drink  Passaick's  wave,* 
And  those  that  eat  soupaan ;  f 

And  sons  of  distant  Delaware, 

And  still  remoter  Shannon  ; 
And  Major  Lee  with  horses  rare, 

And  Proctor  with  his  cannon. J 

All  wondrous  proud  in  arms  they  came ; 

What  hero  would  refuse 
To  tread  the  rugged  path  to  fame 

Who  had  a  pair  of  shoes  ?  § 

At  six,  the  host  with  sweating  buff 

Arrived  at  Freedom's  Pole :  || 
When  Wayne,  who  thought  he'd  time  enough, 

Thus  speechified  the  whole. 

"  Oh  ye,  whom  Glory  doth  unite, 

Who  Freedom's  cause  espouse  ; 
—  Whether  the  wing  that's  doomed  to  fight, 

Or  that  to  drive  the  cows  — 

*  [A  river  in  New  Jersey.] 

f  [Hasty  Pudding,  made  of  the  meal  of  Indian  Corn.]  The  corpulent 
Van  Bummels,  dwellers  on  the  pleasant  Bronx,  says  the  learned  Diedrich 
Knickerbocker,  "  were  the  first  inventors  of  suppawn  or  mush  and 
milk." 

J  The  numbers  of  Irish  in  the  Pennsylvania  line  often  caused  it  to  be 
called,  in  the  war,  the  line  of  Ireland.  Lee,  of  the  dragoons,  —  Light -horse 
Harry  as  he  was  styled,  —  was  distinguished  by  the  superior  equipage  of  his 
corps,  and  its  dashing  achievements.  He  says  that  Wayne's  brigade  though 
good  fighters  were  over-fond  of  pleasure,  and  moved  with  larger  trains  than 
any  equal  corps  in  the  service. 

§  "  They  are  of  a  thin,  long-legged  make,  most  of  them  without  shoes 
and  stockings,  and  without  coats,  and  sometimes  they  throw  away  their 
arms  when  they  are  close  pursued."  —  MS.  Mathew's  Jmtrn. 

||  [Freedom's—  i.  e.  Liberty  Pole,  —  a  long  tree  stuck  in  the  ground.]  Its 
place  was  between  Orangetown  and  Tinack. — MS.  Am.  0.  B.  Aug.  22; 
1780.] 


238  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDE& 

"  Ere  yet  you  tempt  your  further  way, 

Or  into  action  come  ; 
Hear,  soldiers,  what  I  have  to  say ; 

And  take  a  pint  of  rum. 

"  Intemp'rate  valour  then  will  string 
Each  nervous  arm  the  better : 

So  all  the  land  shall  10  sing, 
And  read  the  General's  letter.* 

"  Know,  that  some  paltry  Refugees 

Whom  I've  a  mind  to  fight, 
Are  playing  h — 1  among  the  trees 

That  grow  on  yonder  height. 

"  Their  fort  and  block-houses  we'll  level, 
And  deal  a  horrid  slaughter : 

We'll  drive  the  scoundrels  to  the  devil, 
And  ravish  wife  and  daughter. 

"  I,  under  cover  of  th'  attack, 

Whilst  you  are  all  at  blows, 
From  English-Neighbourhood  and  Tinack  f 

Will  drive  away  the  cows. 

"  For  well  you  know  the  latter  is 
The  serious  operation  : 


*  This  letter  is  probably  the  same  printed  in  Almon's  Remembrancer, 
x.  290,  and  credited  to  the  Pennsylvania  racket,  Aug.  1,  1780.  It  is  from 
Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  July  26,  1780,  and  after  narrat 
ing  the  story  of  the  expedition,  the  failure  of  the  attack  on  the  block-house 
by  reason  of  the  cannon  being  "  too  light  to  penetrate  the  logs  of  -which  it 
was  constructed,"  and  the  "intemperate  valor"  of  our  men  that  occasioned 
so  great  loss  to  themselves,  he  concludes:  "  I  have  been  thus  particular,  lest 
the  account  of  this  affair  should  have  reached  Philadelphia  much  exagger 
ated,  as  is  commonly  the  case  upon  such  occasions." 

t  [Villages  in  Xew  Jersey.] 


THE  COW-CHASE. 

And  fighting  with  the  Refugees 
Is  only  —  demonstration." 

His  daring  words,  from  all  the  crowd 
Such  great  applause  did  gain, 

That  every  man  declar'd  aloud 
For  serious  work  —  with  "Wayne. 

Then  from  the  cask  of  rum  once  more 

They  took  a  heady  gill ; 
When,  one  and  all,  they  loudly  swore 

They'd  fight  upon  the  hill. 

But  here  —  the  muse  hath  not  a  strain 

Befitting  such  great  deeds : 
Huzza,  they  cried.     Huzza  for  Wayne ! 

And  shouting 


CANTO    II. 

Near  his  meridian  pomp,  the  sun 
Had  journey'd  from  th'  horizon  ; 

When  fierce  the  dusty  tribe  mov'd  on 
Of  heroes  drunk  as  poison. 

The  sounds  confus'd  of  boasting  oaths 

Reecho'd  through  the  wood : 
Some  vow'd  to  sleep  in  dead  men's  cloaths, 

And  some  —  to  swim  in  blood. 

At  Irvine's  nod  'twas  fine  to  see 

The  left  prepared  to  fight ; 
The  while  the  drovers,  Wayne  and  Lee, 

Drew  off  upon  the  right. 


240  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

Which  Irvine  'twas,  Fame  don't  relate ; 

Nor  can  the  Muse  assist  her : 
Whether  'twas  he  that  cocks  a  hat, 

Or  he  that  gives  a  glister. 

For  greatly  one  was  signalized 

That  fought  at  Chestnut  Hill ; 
And  Canada  immortalized 

The  vender  of  the  pill. 

Yet  the  attendance  upon  Proctor 
They  both  might  have  to  boast  of; 

For  there  was  business  for  the  doctor, 
And  hats  to  be  dispos'd  of.* 

Let  none  uncandidly  infer 

That  Stirling  wanted  spunk  ; 
The  self-made  Peer  had  sure  been  there, 

But  that  the  Peer  —  was  drunk. 

But  turn  we  to  the  Hudson's  banks, 

Where  stood  the  modest  train 
With  purpose  firm,  tho'  slender  ranks, 

Nor  car'd  a  pin  for  Wayne. 

For  them  the  unrelenting  hand 

Of  rebel  fury  drove, 
And  tore  from  every  genial  band 

Of  Friendship  and  of  Love, 

And  some  within  a  dungeon's  gloom, 
By  mock  tribunals  laid, 

*  [One  of  the  Irvines  was  a  hatter,  the  other  a  physician.]  Dr.  William 
Irvine,  after  two  years'  captivity  in  Canada,  now  commanded  the  2nd  Penn 
sylvania  regiment.  Brigadier  James  Irvine  of  the  militia  was,  it  will  be 
recollected,  taken  at  Chestnut  Hill,  Dec.  1777. 


THE  COW-CHASE.  241 

Had  waited  long  a  cruel  doom 
Impending  o'er  their  head. 

Here  one  bewails  a  brother's  fate  ; 

There  one  a  sire  demands  ; 
Cut  off,  alas  !  before  their  date 

By  ignominious  hands. 

And  silver'd  grandsires  here  appear'd 

In  deep  distress  serene  ; 
Of  reverend  manners,  that  declar'd 

The  better  days  they'd  seen. 

0  curs'd  rebellion  !  these  are  thine  ; 

Thine  are  these  tales  of  woe  ! 
Shall  at  thy  dire  insatiate  shrine 

Blood  never  cease  to  flow  ? 

And  now  the  foe  began  to  lead 

His  forces  to  th'  attack  ; 
Balls  whistling  unto  balls  succeed, 

And  make  the  blockhouse  crack. 

No  shot  could  pass,  if  you  will  take 

The  Gen'ral's  word  for  true  ; 
But  'tis  a  d ble  mistake, 

For  every  shot  went  thro'.* 

The  firmer  as  the  rebels  press'd 

The  loyal  heroes  stand. 
Virtue  had  nerv'd  each  honest  breast, 

And  industry  each  hand. 

*  Wayne  attributed  his  failure  to  the  lightness  of  his  pieces,  which  he 
thought  made  no  impression  on  the  walls  of  the  house.    In  this  he  was 
probably  mistaken.     Spark's  Wash.  vii.  117.     Kepi.  x.  261. 
16 


242  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDEL\ 

"In  valour's  phrenzy  *  Hamilton 

"  Rode  like  a  soldier  big, 
"  And  Secretary  Harrison 

"  With  pen  stuck  in  his  wig. 

"  But  lest  their  chieftain  Washington 
"  Should  mourn  them  in  the  mumps,f 

"  The  fate  of  Withrington  to  shun 
"  They  fought  behind  the  stumps."  f 

But  ah,  Thadaaus  Posset,  why 

Should  thy  poor  soul  elope  ? 
And  why  should  Titus  Hooper  die, 

Ah  die  —  without  a  rope  ? 

Apostate  Murphy,  thou  to  whom 

Fair  Shela  ne'er  was  cruel, 
In  death  shalt  hear  her  mourn  thy  doom, 

—  "  Auch,  would  you  die,  my  jewel  ?  "  —  § 

Thee,  Nathan  Pumpkin,  I  lament, 
Of  melancholy  fate : 

*  [Vide  Lee's  Trial.]  —  "When  General  Washington  asked  me  if  I 
would  remain  in  front  and  retain  the  command,  or  he  should  take  it,  and  I 
had  answered  that  I  undoubtedly  would,  and  that  he  should  see  that  I  my 
self  should  be  one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  field:  Colonel  Hamilton  nourish 
ing  his  sword  immediately  exclaimed  —  that's  right,  my  dear  General,  and 
I  will  stay,  and  we  will  all  die  here  on  this  spot.  .  .  —  I  could  not  but  be 
surprized  at  his  expression,  but  observing  him  much  flustered  and  in  a  sort 
of  phrenzy  of  valour,  I  calmly  requested  him,"  &c.  Lee's  Defence  in  Trial 
(ed.  1778),  p.  60.  —  Harrison  also  mentioned  in  this  verse  had  met  Andre  at 
Amboy:  where  this  personal  peculiarity  may  have  been  noticed, 
f  [A  disorder  prevalent  in  the  rebel  lines.] 

\  [The  merit  of  these  lines,  which  is  doubtless  very  great,  can  only  be 
felt  by  true  connoisseurs  conversant  in  ancient  song.] 
For  Witherington  needs  must  I  wayle 

As  one  in  doleful  dumps  ; 
For  when  his  legges  were  smitten  off 
He  fought  upon  his  stumpes.  —  Chevy  Chase. 

§  See  the  Irish  song  in  Smollett's  Rehearsal. 


THE  COW-CHASE.  243 

The  grey  goose,  stolen  as  he  went, 
In  his  heart's  blood  was  wet.* 

Now  as  the  fight  was  further  fought, 

And  balls  began  to  thicken, 
The  fray  assum'd,  the  Gen'rals  thought, 

The  colour  of  a  licking. 

Yet  undismay'd  the  chiefs  command, 

And,  to  redeem  the  day, 
Cry,  SOLDIERS,  CHARGE  !  —  they  hear,  they  stand, 

They  turn  —  and  run  away. 


CANTO    III. 

Not  all  delights  the  bloody  spear, 

Or  horrid  din  of  battle : 
There  are,  I'm  sure,  who'd  like  to  hear 

A  word  about  the  cattle. 

The  Chief,  whom  we  beheld  of  late 

Near  Schralenberg  haranguing, 
At  Yan  Van  Poop's  |  unconscious  sate 

Of  Irvine's  hearty  banging. 

Whilst  valiant  Lee,  with  courage  wild, 

Most  bravely  did  oppose 
The  tears  of  woman  and  of  child 

Who  begg'd  he'd  leave  the  cows. 

*  Against  Sir  Hugh  Mountgomery 

So  right  the  shaft  he  sett, 
The  grey  goose-wing  that  was  thereon 
In  his  hearts  blood  was  wett.—  Chevy  Chase. 

The  queer  American  names  in  the  text  are  not  an  unfair  hit  at  the  Zerub- 
babel  Fisks  and  Habakkuk  Nutters  and  Determined  Cocks,  whose  patro 
nymics  are  immortalized  bv  Irving. 

t  [Who  kept  a  dramshop.] 


244  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

But  Wayne,  of  sympathizing  heart, 

Required  a  relief 
Not  all  the  blessings  could  impart 

Of  battle  or  of  beef: 

For  now  a  prey  to  female  charms, 

His  soul  took  more  delight  in 
A  lovely  Hamadryad's  *  arms, 

Than  cow-driving  or  fighting. 

A  Nymph,  the  Refugees  had  drove 

Far  from  her  native  tree, 
Just  happen'd  to  be  on  the  move 

When  up  came  Wayne  and  Lee. 

She  in  mad  Anthony's  fierce  eye 

The  Hero  saw  pourtray'd  ; 
And,  all  in  tears,  she  took  him  by 

The  bridle  of  his  jade.t 

"Hear"  —  said  the  Nymph  —  "Oh  great   Com 
mander, 

"  No  human  lamentations  ; 
"  The  trees  you  see  them  cutting  yonder 

"  Are  all  my  near  relations. 

"  And  I,  forlorn,  implore  thine  aid 

"  To  free  the  sacred  grove : 
"  So  shall  thy  powers  be  repaid 

"  With  an  Immortal's  love  !  " 

Now  some,  to  prove  she  was  a  Goddess, 
Said  this  enchanting  fair 


*  [A  deity  of  the  woods.] 

f   [A  New-England  name  for  a  horse,  mare,  or  gelding.] 


THE    COW-CHASE.  245 

Had  late  retired  from  the  Bodies* 
In  all  the  pomp  of  war. 

That  drums  and  merry  fifes  had  play'd 

To  honor  her  retreat : 
And  Cunningham  himself  convey'd 

The  lady  thro'  the  street.f 

Great  "Wayne,  by  soft  compassion  sway'd, 

To  no  enquiry  stoops  ; 
But  takes  the  fair  afflicted  maid 

Right  into  Yan  Van  Poop's. 

So  Roman  Anthony,  they  say, 

Disgrac'd  th'  imperial  banner, 
And  for  a  gypsy  lost  the  day  ; 

Like  Anthony  the  tanner. 

The  Hamadryad  had  but  half 

Receiv'd  redress  from  Wayne, 
When  drums  and  colours,  cow  and  calf, 

Came  down  the  road  amain. 

All  in  a  cloud  of  dust  were  seen 

The  sheep,  the  horse,  the  goat ; 
The  gentle  heifer,  ass  obscene, 

The  yearling  and  the  shoat. 

And  pack-horses  with  fowls  came  by, 
Befeather'd  on  each  side, 

*  [A  cant  appellation  given  among  the  soldiery  to  the  corps  that  has  the 
honour  to  guard  his  Majesty's  person.] 

f  That  is,  the  lady  had  been  drummed  out  of  the  lines  as  a  common 
drunkard  or  thief.  Cunningham  was  the  Provost-Marshal.  "  There  are  a 
number  of  women  here  of  bad  character,  who  are  continually  running  to 
New  York,  and  back  again.  If  they  were  men,  I  would  flog  them  without 
mercy."  — A.  Burr,  commanding  on  American  lines  in  Westchester  county, 
to  Gen.  McDougall :  Whiteplains,  Jan.  21,  1779. 


246  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF,. 

Like  Pegasus,  the  horse  that  I 
And  other  poets  ride. 

Sublime  upon  his  stirrups  rose 

The  mighty  Lee  behind, 
And  drove  the  terror-smitten  cows 

Like  chaff  before  the  wind. 

But  sudden,  see  the  woods  above 

Pour  down  another  corps 
All  helter-skelter  in  a  drove, 

Like  that  I  sung  before. 

Irvine  and  terror  in  the  van 

Came  flying  all  abroad  ; 
And  cannon,  colours,  horse,  and  man, 

Ran  tumbling  to  the  road. 

Still  as  he  fled,  'twas  Irvine's  cry, 

And  his  example  too  : 
"  Run  on,  my  merry  men  all  —  for  why  ? 

The  shot  will  not  so  through  ?  " 


b 


—  Five  Refugees,  'tis  true,  were  found 

Stiff  on  the  blockhouse  floor : 
But  then,  'tis  thought  the  shot  went  round, 

And  in  at  the  back  door.  — 

As  when  two  kennels  in  the  street, 

Swell'd  with  a  recent  rain, 
In  gushing  streams  together  meet 

And  seek  the  neighboring  drain : 

So  meet  these  dung-born  tribes  in  one, 

As  swift  in  their  career; 
And  so  to  New  Bridge  they  ran  on  — 

But  all  the  cows  got  clear. 


THE  COW-CHASE.  247 

Poor  Parson  Caldwell,  all  in  wonder, 

Saw  the  returning  train  : 
And  mourn'd  to  Wayne  the  lack  of  plunder 

For  them  to  steal  again.* 

For  'twas  his  right  to  seize  the  spoil,  and 

To  share  with  each  commander, 
As  he  had  done  on  Staten-Island 

With  frost-bit  Alexander.! 

In  his  dismay  the  frantick  priest 

Began  to  grow  prophetic  : 
You'd  swore,  to  see  his  lab'ring  breast, 

He'd  taken  an  emetick. 

"  I  view  a  future  day,"  said  he, 

"  Brighter  than  this  day  dark  is  : 
And  you  shall  see  what  you  shall  see  — 

Ha !  ha !  one  pretty  Marquis.J 

"  And  he  shall  come  to  Paulus  Hook, 
And  great  achievements  think  on  : 

*  Rev.  James  Caldwell  of  New  Jersey,  an  active  whig  and  deputy  quar 
ter-master  general,  whose  wife  was  barbarously  shot  by  a  newly  enlisted 
soldier  of  Knyphausen's  command  in  the  preceding  summer,  on  no  other 
provocation,  as  was  alleged,  than  that  she  vituperated  him  from  her  win 
dow  as  he  passed.  In  connection  with  this  case,  Bishop  Griswold,  of  the 
diocese  including  Vermont,  writes  at  Bennington  in  1818 :  "  With  what 
detestation  is  frequent  mention  made  of  the  British  soldier's  killing  a 
woman  in  Xew  Jersey.  But  how  rarely,  if  ever,  do  we  hear  of  the  barbar 
ity  of  Col.  F ,  who,  in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  deliberately  aimed  at, 

shot  through  the  breast,  and  instantly  killed  the  wife  of  a  British  officer?  " 
Mr.  Caldwell  was  himself  killed  by  an  American  soldier,  Nov.  24, 1781.  In 
proof  of  his  patriotic  zeal,  local  tradition  relates  that  when  Knyphansen 
came  to  Springfield,  he  collected  the  hymn-books  of  his  church  for  wadding 
to  the  American  muskets.  "  Put  a  little  Watts  into  them,"  he  said  to  our 
soldiers. 

t  [Calling  himself,  because  he  was  ordered  not  to  do  it,  Earl  of  Stirling, 
though  no  sterling  Earl.]  He  led  a  foray  into  Staten  Island,  Jan.  1780,  in 
which  500  of  his  men  were  frost-bitten. 

|  [Lafayette.] 


248  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

And  make  a  bow,  and  take  a  look, 
Like  Satan  over  Lincoln. 

"  And  all  the  land  around  shall  glory 

To  see  the  Frenchmen  caper, 
And  pretty  Susan  tell  the  story 

In  the  next  Chatham  paper."  * 

This  solemn  prophecy  of  course 
,    Gave  all  much  consolation  ; 
Except  to  Wayne,  who  lost  his  horse 
Upon  the  great  occasion. 

*  Miss  Susannah  Livingston  (born  1748),  the  governor's  daughter,  was 
suspected  of  political  authorship.  Perhaps  "  an  intercepted  epistle  to  Ta- 
bitha  from  New  York,"  dated  Aug.  27,  1780,  may  be  attributed  to  her: 

"  Sir  Harry,  it  seems,  was  more  sullen  than  ever  ; 

And  Andre  complained  of  much  bile  on  the  liver." 
And  again : 

"  Alas,  my  sweet  sister,  I  cannot  but  fear 

That  something  not  good  is  to  happen  us  here. 

The  knight  he  is  either  involved  in  deep  gloom, 

When  no  one  but  Andre  dare  enter  his  room,"  &c. 

Though  her  father  had  no  mercy  for  "the  British  scoundrels,"  his  house 
of  Liberty  Hall  was  protected  in  the  invasion  of  June,  1780,  by  Lt.  Col. 
Gordon;  who  on  account  of  his  sister,  the  dowager  Duchess  of  Gordon  and 
her  husband  Gen.  Morris,  was  always  very  civil  to  the  ladies  of  Lord  Stir 
ling's  connection.  On  this  occasion  he  promised  safety  to  the  young  ladies, 
"  so  amiable  in  appearance  as  to  make  it  scarcely  possible  to  suppose  they 
are  daughters  of  such  an  archfiend  as  the  cruel  and  seditious  proprietor 
of  the  mansion";  and  in  token  of  the  same  was  presented  with  a  rose 
from  Miss  Susan's  hand.  During  the  day  a  guard  was  kept  at  the  house; 
nevertheless  from  behind  it  (and  by  a  servant,  it  was  charged),  he  himself 
was  shot  through  the  thigh.  The  whole  business  figured  in  the  newspa 
pers.  This  was  the  same  Gordon  that  slept  so  soundly  at  Philadelphia. 
He  got  into  trouble  in  this  expedition;  was  tried;  and  afterwards  insisted 
on  fighting  and  killing  Lt.  Col.  Thomas  of  the  1st  Guards,  who  had  testi 
fied  against  him.  Miss  Livingston  married  John  Cleves  Symmes,  the 
father-in-law  of  President  Harrison. 

Since  this  note  was  written,  I  have  seen  a  statement  printed  in  Riving- 
ton's  paper,  July  22nd,  1780,  denying  that  any  musket  was  fired  from  Liv 
ingston's  house,  and  alleging  that  the  rose  was  bestowed  not  upon  Gordon, 
but  on  Colonel  Wurmb  of  the  Hessians. 


THE  COW-CHASE.  249 

His  horse  that  carried  all  his  prog, 

His  military  speeches, 
His  corn-stalk  whisky  for  his  grog, 

Blue  stockings,  and  brown  breeches. 

And  now  I've  closed  my  epic  strain, 

I  tremble  as  I  shew  it ; 
Lest  this  same  warrio-drover  Wayne 

Should  ever  catch  the  poet !  * 

*  It  has  been  said  that  Wayne  was  brigadier  of  the  day  when  Andre1  was 
taken.  This  was  not  so.  Huntington  had  that  post  (MS.  Am.  0.  B.); 
nor  was  Wayne  of  the  board  that  pronounced  on  his  fate.  A  biographer 
however  tells  us  that  he  was  delivered  to  Wayne's  keeping  at  Tappaan. 

Though  the  introduction  of  breeches  into  burlesque  heroicals  is  sanc 
tioned  by  the  usage  of  poets  from  King  Stephen's  days  down  to  those  of 
Tarn  O'Shanter,  it  is  possible  that  Andre*  here  had  a  particular  pair  as  a 
model :  — 

"His  breeches  were  of  rugged  woollen, 
And  had  been  at  the  siege  of  Bullen  ; 
To  old  King  Harry  so  well  known, 
Some  writers  held  they  were  his  own. 
Tho'  they  were  lined  with  many  a  piece 
Of  ammunition  bread  and  cheese. 
And  fat  blackpuddings,  proper  food 
For  warriors  that  delight  in  blood."  &c. 

— Hud.  Pt.  i.  c.  i.  v.  309. 

Under  Andre's  signature  to  a  MS.  of  The  Cow-Chase  are  endorsed,  says 
Mr.  Frank  Moore,  these  lines :  — 

"  When  the  epic  strain  was  sung 
The  poet  by  the  neck  was  hung, 
And  to  his  cost  he  finds  too  late, 
The  dung-born  tribe  decides  his  fate." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Progress  of  Arnold's  Treason.  —  Condition  of  American  Affairs  in  1780.  — 
Plans  for  Surrendering  West  Point.  —  Letters  between  Andre"  and  Ar 
nold.  —  An  Interview  Concerted.  —  Andre's  Last  Hours  in  New  York. 

THE  secret  correspondence  with  Arnold,  begun  in  1779, 
bad  at  an  early  stage  been  intrusted  by  Clinton  to  Andre's 
exclusive  management.  The  information  received  was  valu 
able,  and  often  highly  important ;  nor  was  it  long  question 
able  from  what  quarter  it  came.  In  an  elaborately  disguised 
hand  Arnold  wrote  over  the  signature  of  Gustavus, —  a 
pseudonym  perhaps  suggested  by  the  romantic  story  of 
Gustavus  Vasa,  in  whose  love  of  military  glory,  undaunted 
boldness,  and  successful  revolt  against  the  unwonted  lords  of 
his  native  land,  he  might  persuade  himself  his  own  character 
found  a  counterpart.  On  the  other  part,  the  fictitious  name 
of  Anderson  was  but  a  transparent  play  upon  Andre's  own. 
The  accuracy  and  nature  of  the  intelligence  soon  gave  Clin 
ton  concern  to  know  with  certainty  its  author ;  and  once  sat 
isfied  in  his  mind  that  this  was  no  other  than  Arnold,  he  took 
his  cue  from  circumstances,  and  delayed  the  final  consum 
mation  until  a  period  when  the  loss  of  a  correspondent  so 
valuable  would  be  compensated  by  weightier  gains  than  the 
individual  defection  of  an  officer  of  rank.  Thus  he  continued 
to  receive  the  most  momentous  revelations  of  our  affairs  ;  and 
it  may  possibly  have  been  that  through  these  means  a  knowl 
edge  was  acquired  of  the  condition  of  Carolina  that  led  to  the 
fall  of  Charleston.  It  is  certain  that  his  slow  approaches 
after  landing  were  as.  well  calculated  to  bring  reinforcements 
to  the  city  as  to  himself;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  Arnold 
could  have  borne  any  very  great  love  to  Lincoln,  who  had 


PROGRESS  OF  ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  251 

been  raised  over  his  head  from  the  militia  directly  to  a  con 
tinental  major-generalcy,  and  at  a  juncture  when  the  neglect 
of  his  own  claims  by  Congress  amounted  to  little  less  than  a 
positive  insult.  If  we  may  believe  Marbois,  tidings  of  the 
expected  aid  from  France  were  undoubtedly  communicated 
to  Sir  Henry,  with  the  additional  news  that  no  plans  of 
combined  operations  were  to  be  settled  by  Washington  and 
Rochambeau  until  its  arrival.  This  information,  concealed 
at  the  time  by  Congress  from  even  its  own  army,  was  thus 
made  known  to  the  enemy  ;  and  if  Arnold  could  not  in  ad 
vance  tell  him  the  precise  force  to  arrive  or  its  intended  plan 
of  action,  he  at  least  might  advise  him  of  Washington's  ruse, 
and  that  La  Fayette's  and  Rochambeau's  invasion  of  Canada 
was  but  a  false  light  hung  out  to  beguile  the  foe.  On  August 
3rd,  1780,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  West  Point 
and  its  dependencies  ;  and  it  was  forthwith  concerted  that 
his  treason  should  be  fully  developed  with  the  greatest  possi 
ble  advantage  to  the  British.* 

The  moment  was  truly  a  favorable  one.  The  English  were 
weary  of  the  continued  strife,  and  really  anxious  for  peace 
with  America  on  almost  any  terms  that  might  not  involve 
Independency.  The  mess-rooms  no  more,  as  in  Howe's 
days,  echoed  the  toast  of  "  A  glorious  war  and  a  long  one!" 
The  royal  officers  now  pledged  "  A  speedy  accommodation 
of  our  present  unnatural  disputes!"  On  the  other  hand, 
America  too  was  tired  of  the  war.  A  cloud  of  witnesses  of 
the  best  authority  testify  to  the  probability  of  a  majority  of 
our  people  being  desirous  of  accomodating  the  quarrel,  and 
of  reuniting  with  England  on  conditions  of  strict  union,  if  not 
of  mediated  dependence.  The  public  chest  was  empty.  The 
miserable  bubble  by  which  it  had  hitherto  been  recruited  was 

*  It  is  curious  that  so  long  before  as  1776,  Colonel  Zedwitz  of  our  army 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  enemy  almost  identical  with  those  now 
conducted  by  Arnold.  The  delivery  of  the  forts  on  the  North  River  was 
the  ultimate  design  of  either  traitor.  Zedwitz  was  guilty ;  but  he  was  ac 
quitted  because  the  court  did  not  think  his  offence  merited  death ! 


252  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

on  the  verge  of  explosion,  and  the  continental  paper  money, 
always  really  worthless  though  long  sustained  by  the  force 
of  laws  and  bayonets,  was  now  rapidly  approximating  its 
ultimate  value.  The  ranks  were  supplied  with  children, 
whose  service  for  nine  months  was  bought  for  $1500  apiece. 
Hundreds  even  of  the  staff  officers,  said  Greene  in  May, 
1780,  were  ruined  by  the  public  charges  they  had  been 
forced  to  incur,  while  every  obstacle  was  opposed  to  a  settle 
ment  of  their  accounts  lest  their  demands  on  government 
should  become  fixed.  "  However  important  our  cause,  or 
valuable  the  blessings  of  liberty,"  he  continues  to  Washing 
ton,  "  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  divest  ourselves  of  our  pri 
vate  feelings,  while  we  are  contending  for  them."  —  "  It  is 
obvious  that  the  bulk  of  the  people  are  weary  of  the  war," 
said  Reed  in  August.  "  There  never  has  been  a  stage  of 
the  war,"  said  Washington,  "  in  which  the  dissatisfaction  has 
been  so  general  and  so  alarming."  The  army  ill-paid,  ill- 
fed,  ill-clad,  avenged  its  sufferings  and  its  wrongs  by  such 
means  as  lay  in  its  hands.  Martial  law  was  published  to 
procure  its  supplies  in  states  that  had  not  a  hostile  ensign 
within  their  borders.  Regiment  after  regiment  rose  in  mu 
tiny  ;  nor  could  the  rope  or  the  scourge  check  the  devastation 
and  desertion  that  marked  the  army's  course.  At  this  very 
period,  despite  the  repeated  sentences  of  courts-martial,  and 
the  general  orders  for  the  officer  of  the  day  on  his  individual 
authority  to  flog  any  straggler  within  the  limit  of  fifty  lashes, 
we  find  in  Washington's  own  words  the  most  unwelcome  evi 
dences  of  the  necessities  of  his  followers  and  their  consequent 
marauds  along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.*  Not  until  the  end 

*  Without  regard  to  the  question  of  the  soldier's  right  to  quit  a  service 
where  he  is  defrauded  of  his  pay  and  detained  beyond  the  term  of  his  en 
listment,  it  may  simply  be  remarked  that  at  no  time  were  the  lash  and  the 
cord  more  active  than  in  1779  and  in  1780.  The  many-thonged  and  knot 
ted  cat  which  cut  to  the  blood  at  every  stroke,  and  the  gauntlet,  where  a 
double  file  of  soldiers  anointed  the  culprit's  naked  body  with  blows  from 
one  end  of  their  lane  to  the  other,  were  in  constant  requisition.  Flogging 
went  beyond  a  hundred  lashes ;  and  sometimes  the  criminal  was  again  and 


CONDITION  OF  AMERICAN  AFFAIRS   IN   1780."       253 

of  August  was  the  pay  due  in  the  preceding  March  forthcom 
ing.  In  September  Hamilton  found  the  army  a  demoralized, 
undisciplined  mob  :  disliking  the  nation  for  its  neglect,  dreaded 
by  the  nation  for  its  oppressions.  The  description  of  an  East 
Indian  government,  wielding  with  one  hand  a  truncheon  while 
the  other  was  stretched  forth  to  plunder,  seemed  in  the  fears 
of  many  about  to  be  realized  in  our  own  land.  Our  chiefs 
with  mortification  and  regret  confessed  the  day  impending 
when,  unless  the  war  was  carried  on  by  foreign  troops  and 
foreign  treasure,  America  must  come  to  terms.  "  Send  us 
troops,  ships,  and  money,"  wrote  Rochambeau  to  Vergennes ; 
"but  do  not  depend  upon  these  people  nor  upon  their  means." 
Yet  it  was  known  that  the  aid  of  France  and  Spain  was 
merely  sporadic ;  that  their  finances  forbade  the  hope  of  per 
manent  subsidies.  In  1774  neither  fear- nor  flattery,  we  are 
told,  could  swell  the  taxes  of  France  beyond  $90,000,000,  to 
be  levied  from  24,000,000  of  people,  and  there  was  now  rea 
son  to  fear  that,  without  some  great  stroke  on  our  part,  she 
would  soon  abandon  us  as  a  profitless  ally,  and  make  her  own 
peace  with  Britain. 

Congress  too,  rent  by  faction  and  intrigue,  no  longer  com 
manded  the  entire  confidence  of  the  whigs.  Its  relations 
with  the  states  were  not  satisfactory,  and  with  the  army  were 
decidedly  bad.  Jealousy  on  the  one  hand,  aversion  and  dis 
trust  on  the  other,  daily  widened  the  unacknowledged  breach. 
In  August  it  threatened  such  an  exercise  of  its  power  as 
drew  the  warning  from  Washington  that  if  the  deed  were 
perpetrated,  he  questioned  much  "  if  there  was  an  officer  in 

again  remanded,  that  his  torn  and  inflamed  back  might  be  more  bitterly 
rent.  As  for  the  death  penalty,  it  was  necessary  in  1779  when  our  army 
was  in  danger  of  dissolution  by  desertions,  to  authorize  its  immediate  inflic 
tion  upon  any  one  caught  in  the  act.  Harry  Lee  not  only  hanged  the  first 
man  that  he  detected  in  this  offence,  but  sent  his  lopped  and  bloody  head  to 
Washington.  The  spectacle  had  a  happy  effect  on  the  men ;  but  our  officers 
dreaded  the  result  of  its  being  made  known  to  the  public.  Its  repetition  was 
forbidden,  and  Washington  ordered  a  party  at  once  to  bury  the  mutilated 
corpse  ere  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.—  Thacher,  223;  Lee 
on  Jefferson  (ed.  1839),  150;  MS.  Am.  0.  B. 


254  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF,. 

the  whole  line  that  would  hold  a  commission  beyond  the  end 
of  the  campaign,  if  he  did  till  then.  Such  an  act,  even  in 
the  most  despotic  governments,  would  be  attended  with  loud 
complaints."  The  party  hostile  to  the  Chief,  deep-rooted  in 
New  England  and  pervading  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Vir 
ginia,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  its  end  dreaded 
lest  the  tyranny  of  a  Commodus  should  lurk  behind  the  wise 
virtues  of  a  Pertinax,  though  foiled  in  a  former  eifort  to  dis 
place  him,  still  retained  power  to  hamper  his  movements  and 
embarrass  his  designs.  It  was  very  evident  that  his  removal 
would  be  the  signal  for  the  army's  dissolution,  and  the  inev 
itable  subjection  of  the  infant  state ;  but  it  was  yet  feasible 
to  limit  his  powers,  deny  his  requirements,  and  in  a  hundred 
ways  exhibit  a  distrust  of  his  capacity  or  integrity  that  would 
have  caused  many  soldiers  to  throw  up  the  command. 

Much  of  all  this  was  known  to  the  British.  Their  intelli 
gencers  appear  to  have  existed  in  the  most  unsuspected  and 
dangerous  quarters ;  and  at  this  very  epoch  public  officers 
were  betraying  trust  and  unreservedly  revealing  our  affairs 
in  New  York.  Such  was  Heron,  of  the  Connecticut  legis 
lature,  who  left  West  Point  with  a  flag  on  the  30th  of  Au 
gust,  and  was  probably  the  bearer  of  Arnold's  letter  of  that 
date  to  Andre.  He  dined  with  Arnold,  parted  with  him  on 
that  day,  and  brought  to  the  English  leaders  the  most  impor 
tant  oral  information  of  matters  in  the  Highlands  and  of  the 
country  and  army  generally.  "  Mr.  Heron  is  confident  the 
whole  rebellion  must  fall  to  the  ground  soon  from  the  internal 
weakness  of  the  country,  and  the  still  greater  weakness  of 
the  party  that  have  hitherto  fomented  the  troubles,  who  lose 
ground  every  day,  and  divide  from  each  other.  All  subdi 
visions  are  for  peace  with  Great  Britain  on  the  old  founda 
tions" 

The  reduction  of  West  Point  had  long  been  the  hope  of 
the  enemy  ;  but  to  accomplish  it  without  loss  of  life  would 
indeed  have  been  a  triumph  for  Clinton  and  a  most  brilliant 
conclusion  to  the  campaign.  Mr.  Sparks  has  clearly  mapped 


PLANS  FOR  SURRENDERING  WEST  POINT.          255 

out  the  advantages  he  must  have  contemplated  in  this  con 
tingency.  In  the  first  place,  the  mere  acquisition  of  a  fortress 
so  important,  with  all  its  dependencies,  garrison,  stores,  mag 
azines,  vessels,  etc.,  was  an  achievement  of  no  secondary 
magnitude.  The  supplies  gathered  here  by  the  Americans 
were  very  great,  and  once  lost  could  not  have  been  readily, 
if  at  all,  restored.  The  works  were  esteemed  our  tower  of 
salvation ;  an  American  Gibraltar,  impregnable  .to  an  army 
20,000  strong.  Even  though  yet  unfinished,  they  had  cost 
three  years'  labor  of  the  army  and  $3,000,000 ;  and  were 
thought  an  unfailing  and  secure  resort  in  the  last  emer 
gency.  But  the  ulterior  consequences  of  its  possession  were 
of  even  greater  importance.  It  would  enable  Sir  Henry  to 
have  checked  all  trade  between  New  England  and  the  cen 
tral  and  southern  states.  It  was,  in  Washington's  eyes,  the 
bolt  that  locked  this  communication.  The  eastern  states, 
chiefly  dependent  for  their  corn-stuffs  on  their  sisters  in  the 
union,  were  commercial  rather  than  agricultural  communities ; 
and  the  power  that  at  once  commanded  the  seaboard  and  the 
Hudson  might  easily  bring  upon  them  all  the  horrors  of 
famine.  From  Canada  to  Long  Island  Sound  a  virtual  bar 
rier  would  have  shut  out  New  England  from  its  supplies,  as 
the  wall  of  Antonine  barred  the  free  and  rugged  Caledonians 
from  the  Roman  colonies  and  the  south  of  Britain.  A  mod 
ern  writer,  ridiculing  the  idea  that  the  possession  of  West 
Point  would  have  been  really  serviceable  to  Clinton,  diverts 
himself  with  a  picture  of  the  hardy  New  England  yeomanry 
turning  out  for  a  week  to  reduce  the  hostile  garrisons  and  re 
turning  to  their  farms  in  triumph ;  but  it  may  well  be  ques 
tioned  whether,  with  the  river  at  its  command,  such  a  post  as 
West  Point  could  have  been  so  subdued  in  a  week,  or  a 
month,  or  in  twenty  years.  But  even  these  advantages  were 
of  less  moment  than  those  more  immediate.  The  French  un 
der  D'Estaing  had  already  bickered  with  the  Americans.  It 
was  hoped  that  similar  ill-blood  might  arise  in  Rochambeau's 
camp,  and  be  fanned  into  a  flame.  It  was  shrewdly  and  cor- 


25  G  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

rectly  suspected  by  Clinton  that  the  allies  meditated  a  com 
bined  attack  on  New  York.  To  execute  this  movement  with 
West  Point  strongly  garrisoned  by  the  British  would  be  im 
possible  ;  and  nothing  was  more  likely  than  that  the  French 
should  have  all  their  jealousies  aroused  by  the  defection  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  American  generals,  and  the 
surrender  of  the  most  important  American  citadel,  on  the 
very  ground  of  repugnance  to  the  alliance.  Ignorant  of  the 
extent  of  the  plot,  it  would  be  difficult  for  them  to  repose  in 
confidence  with  an  American  army  by  their  side,  and  a  Brit 
ish  before  them  and  in  their  rear.  Nations  get  experience 
by  such  examples  as  that  of  Count  Julian  on  the  field  of 
Xeres  ;  and  the  failure  of  the  campaign  was  the  immediate 
contingent  result  of  Arnold's  success  ;  the  dissolution  of  the 
alliance  and  the  ruin  of  the  American  cause  not  a  remote 
one. 

It  was  supposed  that  Washington's  plan  of  attack  was  to 
advance  himself  upon  the  lines  at  Kingsbridge  and  perhaps 
menace  Staten  Island ;  while  the  French,  landing  on  Long 
Island,  should  threaten  New  York  from  that  quarter.  To 
meet  and  counteract  this  scheme,  Clinton  intended  to  receive 
the  surrender  of  West  Point  in  the  very  moment  when  Wash 
ington  should  have  fairly  resolved  on  his  designs,  gathered 
all  his  necessary  stores  into  West  Point,  and  set  his  troops  in 
motion.  Under  pretence  of  an  expedition  to  the  Chesapeake, 
which  the  Americans  believed  was  on  foot,  the  English  ships, 
with  transports  of  a  peculiar  draught  of  water  properly  man 
ned,  were  kept  at  a  convenient  place  for  immediate  use  ;  and 
the  men  destined  for  the  service  held  ready  for  embarcation 
at  any  moment.  Of  these  was  the  corps  commanded  by  Sim- 
coe,  from  whom  Clinton  did  not  conceal  his  real  designs,  and 
who  was  accordingly  busied  in  procuring  information. 

"  My  idea  of  putting  into  execution  this  concerted  plan  with 
General  Arnold  with  most  efficacy,  was  to  have  deferred  it  till 
Mr.  Washington,  cooperating  with  the  French,  moved  upon 
this  place  to  invest  it,  and  that  the  Rebel  Magazines  should 


PLANS  FOR  SURRENDERING  WEST  POINT.          257 

have  been  collected  and  formed  in  their  several  Depots, 
particularly  that  at  West  Point.  General  Arnold  sur 
rendering  himself,  the  Forts  and  Garrisons,  at  this  instant, 
would  have  given  every  advantage  which  could  have  been 
desired :  Mr.  Washington  must  have  instantly  retired  from 
King's  bridge,  and  the  French  troops  upon  Long  Island 
would  have  been  consequently  left  unsupported,  and  prob 
ably  would  have  fallen  into  our  hands.  The  consequent  ad 
vantage  of  so  great  an  event  I  need  not  explain."  * 

On  the  31st  of  August  Clinton  formally  asked  the  king's 
approbation  of  Andre  as  Adjutant-General,  — "  whose  faithful 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  office  for  nearly  a  twelve 
month  have  made  me  consider  him  as  worthy  of  the  appoint 
ment."  t  There  had  already  been  some  delay  in  changing 
his  provincial  to  a  regular  majority :  and  ministers  perhaps 
thought  there  was  more  of  favoritism  than  merit  at  the  bot 
tom  of  all.  To  remove  such  inference,  Dalrymple,  Mathew, 
and  Pattison,  who  went  over  with  this  despatch,  probably  bore 
oral  information  from  Clinton  of  what  Andre  was  concerned 
in.  The  details  were  not  yet  to  be  safely  trusted  on  paper  to 
the  fortunes  of  the  sea.  Robertson  refers  to  these  generals, 
on  the  1st  of  September,  as  able  to  tell  everything  to  the 
minister  that  he  is  silent  about,  and  on  the  21st  more  plainly 
intimates  that  government  must  know  what  great  things  the 
General  and  Admiral  were  meditating  :  —  "So  I  will  only 
say  in  general  that  since  the  year  1777  I  have  not  seen  so 
fair  a  prospect  for  the  return  of  the  revolted  provinces  to 
their  duty."  In  London,  Mathew  and  the  others  on  their 
arrival  gave  out  that  it  was  all  over  with  the  Americans ; 
that  news  would  presently  be  received  of  an  irreparable  blow 
that  would  ruin  them  forever.  Their  silence  after  tidings  of 
Andre's  death  came  in  induces  the  belief  that  they  had  been 
trusted  with  and  referred  to  Arnold's  meditated  treason. 

*  MS.  Clinton's  Desp.  11  Oct.  1780.    State  Paper  Office:  Received  Nov. 
13. 

f  MS.  Clinton's  Desp.  31  Aug.  1780.     S.  P.  0.;  Rec.  14  Oct. 
17 


258  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

How  far  soever  the  secret  may  have  been  confided  in  the 
British  camp,  it  was  inviolably  kept  in  the  American;  and 
while  Clinton  was  waiting  the  motions  of  the  allies  to  strike 
his  blow,  news  of  the  total  defeat  of  Gates  at  Camden  in 
duced  him  to  suspend  further  steps  till  it  appeared  what 
Washington's  course  would  be.  The  reports  of  his  spies 
and  the  force  still  reserved,  convinced  him  that  New  York 
remained  the  object ;  and  Arnold  soon  confirmed  this  conclu 
sion.  For  various  reasons,  however,  the  plan  already  con 
certed  of  moving  upon  West  Point  was  abandoned,  and  other 
steps  resorted  to.  It  would  seem  that,  despite  Sir  Henry's 
language  lately  quoted,  there  was  yet  much  to  be  arranged. 
The  time  for  approach  and  surrender  might  indeed  be  settled 
in  the  mysterious  and  covert  phrase  of  the  correspondence 
between  Anderson  and  Gustavus ;  but  the  manner  of  attack, 
which  was  of  course  to  turn  on  that  of  defence,  and  the  price 
of  the  performance,  could  not  be  so  easily  hit  upon.  From 
what  we  can  gather,  it  may  be  inferred  Arnold's  terms  were 
greater  than  Clinton  thought  reasonable ;  and  this  very  cir 
cumstance  may  have  induced  the  former  to  insist  on  an 
agreement  beforehand  with  an  authorized  agent.  On  the 
other  hand,  Sir  Henry  was  desirous  (inconsistent  with  the 
previously  concerted  arrangement  as  it  may  seem)  to  ver 
ify  Arnold's  identity,  and  to  settle  beyond  peradventure  the 
hour  and  means  of  his  appearance  before  West  Point.  He 
therefore  agreed  to  the  proposal  that  Andre  should  be  sent 
to  meet  him.  Meanwhile  the  correspondence  had  been  kept 
up  ;,  the  following  is  the  letter  that  was  perhaps  sent  in  by 
Heron :  — 

ARNOLD    TO    ANDRE. 

"August  30th,  1780.  — Sir  :  On  the  24th  instant  I  received 
a  note  from  you  without  date,  in  answer  to  mine  of  the  7th 
of  July,  also  a  letter  from  your  house  of  the  24th  July,  in 

answer  to  mine  of  the  loth,  with  a  note  from  Mr.  B .  of 

the  30th  July ;  with  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  J.  Os- 


LETTERS  BETWEEN  A^DRE  AND  ARNOLD.  259 

born  of  the  24th.  I  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
contents  of  the  several  letters ;  had  they  arrived  earlier,  you 
should  have  had  my  answer  sooner.  A  variety  of  circum 
stances  has  prevented  my  writing  you  before.  I  expect  to 
do  it  very  fully  in  a  few  days,  and  to  procure  you  an  inter 
view  with  Mr.  M e,  when  you  will  be  able  to  settle 

your  commercial  plan,  I  hope,  agreeable  to  all  parties.     Mr. 

M e  assures  me  that  he  is  still  of  opinion  that  his  first 

proposal  is  by  no  means  unreasonable,  and  makes  no  doubt, 
when  he  has  had  a  conference  with  you,  that  you  will  close 
with  it.  He  expects,  when  you  meet,  that  you  will  be  fully 
authorized  from  your  House  ;  that  the  risks  and  profits  of 
the  copartnership  may  be  fully  and  clearly  understood. 

"  A  speculation  might  at  this  time  be  easily  made  to  some 
advantage  with  ready  money  ;  but  there  is  not  the  quantity 
of  goods  at  market  which  your  partner  seems  to  suppose,  and 
the  number  of  speculators  below,  I  think,  will  be  against 
your  making  an  immediate  purchase.  I  apprehend  goods 
will  be  in  greater  plenty,  and  much  cheaper,  in  the  course 
of  the  season  ;  both  dry  and  wet  are  much  wanted  and  in  de 
mand  at  this  juncture  ;  some  quantities  are  expected  in  this 

part  of  the  country  soon.     Mr.  M e  flatters  himself,  that 

in  the  course  of  ten  days  he  will  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  ;  he  requests  me  to  advise  you,  that  he  has  ordered  a 

draft  on  you  in  favor  of  our  mutual  friend  S y  for  £300, 

which  you  will  charge  on  account  of  the  tobacco.     I  am,  in 

behalf  of  Mr.  M e  &  Co.,  Sir,  your  obedient   humble 

servant,  GUSTAVUS. 

"  Mr.  John  Anderson,  Merchant, 

"  To  the  care  of  James  Osborne,  to  be  left  at  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Odell's,  New  York." 

Translated  from  its  commercial  phraseology  into  plain 
English,  this  letter  teaches  us  that  on  the  7th  July  Arnold 
had  declared  the  probability  of  his  obtaining  the  command 
of  West  Point,  and  the  inspection  he  had  just  made  of  its  de- 


260  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    ANDRF,. 

fences;  and  had  written  again  on  the  15th,  when  the  projec 
tions  connected  with  the  arrival  of  the  French  may  have 
been  mentioned.  The  terms  on  which  he  was  to  surrender 
were  also  doubtless  named.  To  these  Andre  had  replied  in 
two  notes ;  and,  if  we  may  suppose  that  B.  stood  for  Beverly 
Robinson  and  J.  Osborn  for  Sir  H.  Clinton,  communications 
from  these  were  likewise  apparently  conveyed.  It  may  be 
easily  gathered  also  that  the  present  strength  of  the  garrison 
both  in  militia  and  continentals  was  indicated ;  and  that  the 
feasibility  of  a  coup-de-main,  and  the  danger  of  the  troops  at 
Verplanck's  retarding  such  an  undertaking,  were  suggested. 
It  will  be  observed  that  Gustavus  writes  as  agent  for  Mr. 

M e  :  elide  the  dash,  and  we  have  Mr.  Me  ;  in  other 

words,  himself.  The  reader  will  recollect  Arnold's  old 
motto  —  Sibi  totique :  it  was  indeed  for  himself  that  he  now 
acted. 

In  this  letter,  the  demand  for  an  interview  with  a  confi 
dential  agent  of  Clinton's  —  a  man  of  Arnold's  "  own  mensu 
ration  "  —  with  Andre  in  fact  —  was  repeated  :  and  Clinton 
agreed  that  the  meeting  should  take  place.  Several  fruitless 
efforts  —  two,  at  the  least  —  were  made  for  this  end.  In 
November,  1780,  it  was  said  in  London  that  Commodore 
Johnstone  had  received  a  letter  from  Rodney  asserting  that 
Andre  had  twice  safely  met  Arnold,  and  had  even  acted  as 
his  valet-de-chambre :  and  that  the  miscarriage  was  due  to 
Clinton's  hesitation  to  acquiesce  in  and  instantly  follow  out 
the  plans  then  arranged.  There  seems  little  foundation  for 
this  tale. 

Rodney  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  14th  September  and, 
taking  command  of  that  station,  readily  listened  to  Sir  Hen 
ry's  desires  :  — 

"  At  this  period,  Sir  George  Rodney  arrived  with  a  fleet 
at  New  York,  which  made  it  highly  probable,  that  Washing 
ton  would  lay  aside  all  thoughts  against  this  place.  It  be 
came  therefore  proper  for  me  no  longer  to  defer  the  execu 
tion  of  a  project,  which  would  lead  to  such  considerable 


LETTERS  BETWEEN  ANDR&  AND  ARNOLD.          261 

advantages,  nor  to  lose  so  fair  an  opportunity  as  was  pre 
sented,  and  under  so  good  a  mask  as  the  expedition  to  the 
Chesapeake,  which  everybody  imagined  would  of  course  take 
place.  Under  this  feint  I  prepared  for  a  movement  up  the 
North  River.  I  laid  my  plan  before  Sir  George  Rodney 
and  General  Knyphausen,  when  Sir  George,  with  that  zeal 
for  his  Majesty's  service,  which  marks  his  character,  most 
handsomely  promised  to  give  me  every  naval  assistance  in 
his  power. 

"  It  became  necessary  at  this  instant,  that  the  secret  cor 
respondence  under  feigned  names,  which  had  so  long  been 
carried  on,  should  be  rendered  into  certainty,  both  as  to  the 
person  being  General  Arnold  commanding  at  West  Point, 
and  that  in  the  manner  in  which  he  was  to  surrender  himself, 
the  forts,  and  troops  to  me,  it  should  be  so  conducted  under  a 
concerted  plan  between  us,  as  that  the  king's  troops  sent 
upon  this  expedition  should  be  under  no  risk  of  surprise  or 
counterplot ;  and  I  was  determined  not  to  make  the  attempt 
but  under  such  particular  security. 

"  I  knew  the  ground  on  which  the  forts  were  placed,  and 
the  contiguous  country,  tolerably  well,  having  been  there  in 
1777  ;  and  I  had  received  many  hints  respecting  both  from 
General  Arnold.  But  it  was  certainly  necessary  that  a 
meeting  should  be  held  with  that  officer  for  settling  the  whole 
plan.  My  reasons,  as  I  have  described  them,  will,  I  trust, 
prove  the  propriety  of  such  a  measure  on  my  part.  General 
Arnold  had  also  his  reasons,  which  must  be  so  very  obvious, 
as  to  make  it  unnecessary  for  me  to  explain  them. 

"  Many  projects  for  a  meeting  were  formed,  and  conse 
quently  several  attempts  made,  in  all  of  which  General  Ar 
nold  seemed  extremely  desirous,  that  some  person,  who  had 
my  particular  confidence,  might  be  sent  to  him ;  some  man, 
as  he  described  it  in  writing,  of  his  own  mensuration. 

"  I  had  thought  of  a  person  under  this  important  descrip 
tion,  who  would  gladly  have  undertaken  it,  but  that  his  pecu 
liar  situation  at  the  time,  from  which  I  could  not  release  him, 


262  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRL\ 

prevented  him  from  engaging  in  it.  General  Arnold  finally 
insisted,  that  the  person  sent  to  confer  with  him  should  be 
Adjutant- General  Major  Andre,  who  indeed  had  been  the 
person  on  my  part,  who  managed  and  carried  on  the  secret 
correspondence."  * 

It  was  Arnold's  wish  that  Andre,  disguised  as  John  Ander 
son,  a  bearer  of  intelligence  from  New  York,  should  meet 
him  at  a  cavalry  outpost  between  Salem  and  North  Castle, 
•on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  ;  and  he  notified  Sheldon,  its 
commander,  that  he  hoped  to  encounter  in  this  manner  a 
valuable  emissary.  Of  this  too  Andre  was  informed  on  the 
3rd  of  September.  But  it  was  no  part  of  the  latter's  plan  to 
enter  our  lines  in  disguise,  and  so  much  of  the  arrangement 
as  contemplated  his  doing  so  was  at  once  thrown  aside.  On 
the  strength  of  Arnold's  letter,  however,  he  wrote  to  Sheldon 
that  he  would  come  with  a  flag  to  the  American  outposts. 


ANDERSON    TO    SHELDON. 

New  York,  7  Sept.  1780. —  SIR:  I  am  told  my  name  is 
made  known  to  you,  and  that  I  may  hope  your  indulgence  in 
permitting  me  to  meet  a  friend  near  your  outposts.  I  will 
endeavour  to  obtain  permission  to  go  out  with  a  flag  which 
will  be  sent  to  Dobb's  Ferry  on  Sunday  next  the  llth  at 
12  o'clock,  when  I  shall  be  happy  to  meet  Mr.  G.  Should 
I  not  be  allowed  to  go,  the  officer  who  is  to  command  the 
escort,  between  whom  and  myself  no  distinction  need  be 
made,  can  speak  on  the  affair. 

Let  me  entreat  you,  Sir,  to  favour  a  matter  so  interesting 
to  the  parties  concerned,  and  which  is  of  so  private  a  nature 
that  the  public  on  neither  side  can  be  injured  by  it. 

I  shall  be  happy  on  my  part  of  doing  any  act  of  kindness 
to  you  in  a  family  or  a  property  concern,  of  a  similar  nature. 

I  trust  I  shall  not  be  detained  but  should  any  old  grudge 
be  a  cause  for  it,  I  should  rather  risk  that  than  neglect 
*  Clinton  to  Lord  G.  Germain.  —  Spark's  Arnold,  168. 


PLANS    FOR  AN   INTERVIEW   WITH  ARNOLD.        263 

the  business  in, question  or  assume  a  mysterious  character  to 
carry  on  an  innocent  affair  and  as  friends  have  advised  get  to 
your  lines  by  stealth.  I  am  with  all  regard  Yr.  most  hum 
ble  sert.  JOHN  ANDERSON. 

This  letter  rather  surprised  Sheldon,  to  whom  Anderson's 
name  had  not  before  been  mentioned  ;  but  it  answered  its 
object  of  putting  Arnold  on  the  lookout,  for  it  was  at  once 
transmitted  to  him.  He  artfully  stated  a  case  to  disarm  any 
suspicion,  and  directed  that  if  Anderson  should  come  to 
Sheldon's  post,  notice  should  be  sent  him  by  express  and 
the  supposed  intelligencer  escorted  to  his  head-quarters.  At 
the  same  time,  on  the  allegation  of  business  connected  with 
his  post,  he  resolved  to  seek  Clinton's  agent  at  the  appointed 
time  and  place.  He  set  out  from  West  Point  in  his  barge 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  10th ;  passed  the  night  at  Joshua 
Smith's  house;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  llth  descended 
nineteen  miles  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  where  Andre  waited  with 
Robinson  to  receive  him. 

Beverly  Robinson  was  a  gentleman  of  high  standing.  His 
father,  speaker  of  the  Virginia  legislature,  was  an  early  friend 
to  Washington,  whose  modesty  and  valor  he  complimented 
in  language  that  is  yet  remembered.  The  son  was  married 
to  a  great  heiress  of  the  day,  the  daughter  of  Frederic 
Philipse,  and  with  her  acquired  large  estates  on  the  Hudson. 
At  his  house  Washington  had  met  and  sought  to  win  the 
younger  sister  and  co-heiress.  His  country-seat  in  the  High 
lands,  two  miles  from  West  Point  but  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  was  a  large  and  handsome  building  surrounded  by 
pleasant  orchards  and  gardens  and  environed  by  sublime 
scenery.  The  American  generals,  considering  it  public  prop 
erty  since  its  owner  was  in  arms  for  the  crown,  were  wont 
to  use  it  as  their  own :  it  was  now  Arnold's,  and  some  time 
Washington's  head-quarters.  There  is  a  pleasant  anecdote 
of  an  entertainment  given  at  Paris  by  Marbois  to  La  Fayette 
not  long  before  his  death.  Americans  and  others  were  pres 


264  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

ent  who  had  served  in  our  war.  At  supper,  the  guests  were 
led  into  a  strange,  large,  low  apartment,  like  a  farmhouse 
kitchen,  with  one  window  and  many  small  doors.  On  a 
rough  table  were  arrayed  large  dishes  of  meat  and  pastry, 
bottles,  glasses,  silver  mugs,  &c.  They  gazed  in  surprise, 
and  memory  faintly  struggled  to  recall  the  scene,  till  La, 
Fayette  suddenly  cried  out,  "  Ah,  the  seven  doors  and  one 
window,  and  the  silver  camp-goblets  such  as  the  Marshal-; 
of  France  used  in  my  youth  !  We  are  at  Washington's* 
head-quarters  on  the  Hudson,  fifty  years  ago  !  " 

Robinson's  circumspect  and  cautious  character  were  thought 
needful  to  check  the  buoyancy  of  his  comrade,  and  he  was 
likewise  fully  acquainted  with  the  pending  negotiations.  In 
deed  it  was  probably  through  him  that  Arnold's  first  over 
tures  were  made.  But  the  large  acquaintance  and  interests 
he  had  in  the  region,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  made 
his  presence  additionally  desirable. 

The  interview  was  to  occur  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
at  Dobb's  Ferry;  but  as  Arnold  drew  near,  one  of  those 
circumstances  which  the  pious  man  calls  providence  and  the 
profane  calls  luck,  prevented  an  encounter  that  must  in  all 
human  probability  have  resulted  in  the  consummation  of  the 
plot.  Some  British  gun-boats  were  stationed  at  the  place, 
which  opened  such  a  fire  on  the  American  barge  that  Ar 
nold,  though  twice  he  strove  hard  to  get  on  board,  was  put 
in  deadly  peril  of  his  life  and  obliged  to  fall  back.  How  this 
came  to  pass  without  Robinson's  intervention  we  cannot  im 
agine  ;  for  it  is  impossible  but  that  an  intimation  from  him 
would  have  caused  the  firing  to  cease.  Or  had  he  repaired 
with  Andre  and  his  flag  to  meet  the  solitary  barge  that  evi 
dently  belonged  to  an  officer  of  rank,  an  interview  might  at 
once  have  been  effected  in  the  most  plausible  manner  in  the 
world.  The  circumstances  of  the  case  would  have  rendered 
it  easy  for  Arnold  to  publicly  say  that  he  would,  since  they 
were  thus  thrown  together,  waive  the  prerogative  of  rank  that 
otherwise  mi«rht  have  induced  him  to  refer  the  enemv's  flaii 


PLANS   FOR  AN   INTERVIEW   WITH    ARNOLD.         265 

to  an  officer  of  an  equal  grade,  and  to  grant  an  interview  on 
shore.  The  condition  of  Robinson's  estate  was  a  ready  pre 
text  for  even  a  private  reception  ;  and  there  was  no  obstacle 
to  Andre's  being  of  the  party.  In  the  hope  of  being  thus 
followed,  Arnold  retired  to  an  American  post  on  the  west 
shore,  above  the  ferry,  where  he  remained  till  sundown: 
but  no  flag  came.  It  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  statement 
attributed  to  Rodney  could  have  had  an  actual  foundation 
here.  At  all  events,  he  went  back  that  night  to  West 
Point,  and  his  coadjutor  returned  to  New  York.  The  fail 
ure  of  the  meeting  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  supposing 
that  the  English  messengers  were  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
ferry  when  Arnold  was  fired  at,  and  could  not  interfere  in 
season.  They  could  hardly  have  been  on  the  Vulture,  since 
its  boat  was  lowered  to  pursue  the  American  barge,  which  it 
did  so  far  and  so  vigorously  as  to  have  nearly  captured  it. 

Hitherto,  these  transactions  had  been  conducted  with  com 
parative  freedom,  for  neither  Washington  or  any  other  officer 
of  very  high  rank  being  on  the  spot,  Arnold  was  under  no 
control  but  a  regard  to  appearances ;  and  he  had  plausible 
reasons  to  give  for  every  step  he  had  taken.  But  a  new 
meeting  must  now  be  arranged  at  a  moment  when  it  was 
known  the  Chief  would  be  in  the  neigborhood  on  his  route 
to  meet  Rocharnbeau  at  Hartford.  On  the  13th,  therefore, 
he  instructed  Tallmadge  at  North  Castle  to  bring  Anderson 
directly  to  him,  should  he  present  himself  there.  The  caution 
was  needless.  Andre  had  no  idea  of  meeting  him  elsewhere 
than  on  neutral  ground  or  on  a  British  deck.  According  to 
Marbois  (who  is  not,  however,  confirmed  by  any  authorities 
known  to  me),  Clinton  about  this  period  warned  Arnold  that 
unless  the  engaged  surrender  was  speedily  made,  circum 
stances  might  prevent  its  fulfilment ;  and  called  at  the  same 
time  for  plans  and  papers  needful  for  his  guidance.  Arnold 
replied  to  this  effect :  — 

"Notre  maitre  quitte  le  logis  le  17  de  ce  mois.  II  sera 
absent  pendant  cinq  a  six  jours :  profitons  pour  arranger  nos 


266  LIFE   OF   MAJOR  ANDRE. 

affaires  du  temps  qu'il  nous  laisse.  Venez,  sans  delai,  me 
trouver  aux  lignes,  et  nous  reglerons  deh'nitivement  les  risq'ues 
et  les  profits  de  la  societe.  Tout  sera  pret ;  mais  cette  en- 
trevue  est  indispensable,  et  doit  preceder  Texpedition  de  notre 
navire."  * 

Hardly,  however,  had  the  discomfited  and  disappointed 
Andre  returned  to  New  York  when  events  took  a  new  turn. 
There  was  no  longer  room  for  doubt  that  the  negotiation 
would  be  speedily  and  thoroughly  effected.  The  chosen  few 
to  whom  the  secret  was  known  were  elate  with  anxious  joy ; 
and  even  they  who  knew  not  the  cause  could  not  but  reflect 
in  their  countenances  the  satisfaction  of  their  leaders,  and  the 
belief  that  at  length  irreparable  injury  was  to  fall  on  the 
American  cause.  "  Let  the  Whigs  enjoy  their  temporary 
triumph,"  Avrote  one  of  the  best-informed  loyalists  about  Clin 
ton  ;  '"  I  would  have  them  indulged  in,  as  I  really  think  it  is 
one  of  the  last  they  will  enjoy."  Tradition  relates  that  there 
were  not  a  few  who  believed  that  Andre  was  engaged  in  an 
affair  that  was  about  to  ripen  to  a  head,  and  from  which,  if 

*  Complot  d' Arnold,  &c.  91.  Marbois  was  in  1780  secretary  here  to  Lu- 
zerae's  legation,  and  for  long  after  French  Consul-General,  and  Charge,  lie 
was  of  studious  and  reflective  habits  and  sound  parts.  John  Adams  thought 
him  one  of  the  best  informed  men  in  France.  Gen.  Cass  says  no  foreigner 
ever  understood  us  so  well,  and  few  Americans  better.  His  opportunities 
were  good;  his  intimacy  with  the  leading  men  of  the  day  gave  him  knowl 
edge  of  their  views  about  Arnold,  whose  business  was  constantly  discussed 
by  the  allies.  All  of  Arnold's  papers  too  were  seized,  both  at  West  Point 
and  Philadelphia,  and  apparently  scattered  in  various  hands.  Perhaps  he 
may  thus  have  had  access  to  information  or  documents  now  unknown. 
Certainly  some  of  his  statements  are  not  easily  reconciled  with  the  current 
history  of  the  time;  but  it  is  incredible  that  he  should  give,  with  quotation- 
marks,  translations  of  letters  that  had  no  existence  but  in  his  own  imagin 
ation.  "  Marbois  writes  tittle-tattle  and  I  believe  does  mischief,"  wrote 
Jav  from  the  French  court  in  1783.  The  speeches  that  he  puts  in  the 
mouths  of  some  of  the  chief  actors  under  circumstances  that  render  it  im 
possible  they  should  have  been  reported,  has  license  in  long  established 
historical  usage.  Every  author  of  a  certain  school  feels  at  liberty  to  use 
his  hero's  tongue  as  freely  as  Homer  used  those  of  Greeks  and  Trojans. 
"  Ces  coquins,"  said  Conde"  to  De  Retz,  "nous  font  parler  et  agir  comme 
ils  auroieut  fait  eux-memes  a  notre  place." 


ANDRE'S  LAST  HOURS  IX  NEW  YORK.  267 

successful,  he  was  to  reap  honors  and  reward.  A  baronetcy 
and  a  brigadiership  were  with  good  show  of  probability  reck 
oned  among  his  prospective  gains. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  occurrences  of  the  last  moments 
which  Andre  spent  in  New  York  to  warn  him  of  his  nearly  im 
pending  fate.  No  boding  friend  or  weeping  mistress  presaged 
evil  to  his  plans  ;  and  the  times  were  vanished  when  sagacious 
attendants  brought  such  provident  advices  as  Sir  Gyron  le 
Courtois  received  from  his  faithful  squire  r —  "  Sire,  know  that 
my  heart  tells  me  sooth  that  if  you  proceed  farther  you  nev 
er  will  return ;  that  you  will  either  perish  there,  or  you  will 
remain  in  prison."  So  far  from  gloomy  thoughts  possessing 
his  soul,  he  appears  to  have  in  these  parting  scenes  entered 
even  more  freely  than  usual  into  the  pleasures  of  the  place. 
Madame  de  Riedesel  chronicles  briefly  the  visit  she  received 
from  Clinton  and  himself  on  the  day  before  his  departure. 
Nor  was  this  a  solitary  example.  Where  now  in  New  York 
is  the  unalluring  and  crowded  neighborhood  of  2nd  Avenue 
and  34th  Street,  stood  in  1780  the  ancient  bowerie  or  coun 
try-seat  of  Jacobus  Kip.  Built  in  1641  of  bricks  brought 
from  Holland,  encompassed  by  pleasant  trees  and  in  easy 
view  of  the  sparkling  waters  of  Kip's  Bay  on  the  East  River, 
the  mansion  remained  even  to  our  own  times  in  possession 
of  its  founder's  line.  Here  spread  the  same  smiling  meadows 
whose  appearance  had  so  expanded  the  heart  of  Oloffe  the 
Dreamer  in  the  fabulous  ages  of  the  colony ;  here  still  nodded 
the  groves  that  had  echoed  back  the  thunder  of  Hendrick 
Kip's  musketoon,  when  that  mighty  warrior  left  his  name 
to  the  surrounding  waves.  When  Washington  was  in  the 
neighborhood,  Kip's  house  had  been  his  quarters ;  when 
Howe  crossed  from  Long  Island  on  Sunday,  Sept.  15th, 
1776,  he  debarked  at  the  rocky  point  hard  by,  and  his 
skirmishers  drove  our  people  from  their  position  behind  the 
dwelling.  Since  then  it  had  known  many  guests.  Howe, 
Clinton,  Knyphausen,  Percy,  were  sheltered  by  its  roof. 
The  aged  owner  with  his  wife  and  daughters  remained,  but 


268  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

they  had  always  an  officer  of  distinction  quartered  with  tnem  ; 
and  if  a  part  of  the  family  were  in  arms  for  Congress,  as  is 
alleged,  it  is  certain  that  others  were  active  for  the  crown. 
Jacobus  Kip  of  Kipsburgh  led  a  cavalry  troop  of  his  own 
tenantry  with  great  gallantry  in  De  Lancy's  regiment  ;  and 
despite  severe  wounds  survived  long  after  the  war,  a  heavy 
pecuniary  sufferer  by  the  cause  which  with  most  of  the  land 
ed  gentry  of  New  York  he  had  espoused. 

On  September  19th  Colonel  Williams  of  the  80th,  then 
billeted  here,  gave  a  dinner  to  Clinton  and  his  staff  as  a 
parting  compliment  to  Andre.  How  brilliant  soever  the  com 
pany,  how  cheerful  the  repast,  its  memory  must  have  ever 
been  fraught  with  sadness  to  both  host  and  guests.  It  was 
the  last  occasion  of  Andre's  meeting  his  comrades  in  life. 
Four  short  days  gone,  the  hands  then  clasped  by  friendship 
were  fettered  with  hostile  bonds  ;  yet  nine  days  more,  and 
the  darling  of  the  army,  the  youthful  hero  of  the  hour,  had 
dangled  from  a  gibbet. 

It  was  recollected  with  peculiar  interest  that  when  at  this 
banquet  the  song  came  to  his  turn,  Andre  gave  the  favorite 
military  chanson  attributed  to  Wolfe,  who  sung  it  on  the  eve 
of  the  battle  where  he  died. 

"  Why,  soldiers,  why 
Should  we  be  melancholy,  boys  ? 
Why,  soldiers,  why, 
Whose  business  'tis  to  die  ! 
For  should  next  campaign 
Send  us  to  him  who  made  us,  boys, 
We're  free  from  pain: 
But  should  we  remain, 
A  bottle  and  kind  landlady 
Makes  all  well  again." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Robinson  sent  to  Communicate  with  Arnold.  —  Correspondence.  —  Andr£ 
goes  to  the  Vulture.  —  Correspondence  with  Clinton  and  Arnold. — Joshua 
Hett  Smith  selected  as  Arnold's  Messenger. 

THE  arrival  of  Rodney  on  the  14th  of  September  had 
been  followed  by  the  receipt  of  fresh  communications  from 
Arnold.  On  the  16th,  Robinson  was  again  sent  up  the  river 
on  the  Vulture,  and  that  for  the  future  there  should  be  no 
untimely  interruptions  from  this  vessel,  its  commander  was 
measurably  instructed  in  what  was  going  on.  If  any  omen 
might  be  derived  from  names,  the  Vulture  was  a  fortunate 
ship  for  the  enterprise.  She  herself  had  been  very  success 
ful  against  our  privateers ;  and  thirty-five  years  before  we 
find  a  band  of  prisoners,  some  of  them  detained  as  spies, 
(comprising  not  only  the  celebrated  Home,  in  whose  tragedy 
Andre  had  delighted  to  bear  a  character,  but  Witherspoon, 
now  active  for  the  Congress,  and  Barrow,  in  arms  for  the 
king,)  had  escaped  from  Charles  Edward's  hands,  and  flying 
from  Doune  castle  by  Tullyallan,  were  received  on  board  the 
sloop-of-war  Vulture,  Captain  Falconer. 

At  Teller's  Point,  about  fourteen  miles  as  the  crow  flies 
from  Arnold's  quarters,  but  of  course  more  by  way  of 
the  river,  the  Vulture  came  to  anchor  within  easy  view  of 
King's  Ferry  and  scarcely  six  miles  from  the  works  of  Ver- 
planck's  and  Stony  Points.  Hence  Robinson  on  the  17th 
dexterously  conveyed  information  by  a  flag  to  Arnold  of  his 
presence,  and  his  readiness  to  aid  the  negotiation.  His  letter 
was  received  at  Verplanck's  by  Livingston,  and  forwarded  to 
head-quarters  several  miles  above. 

As  Livingston  played  an  important  though  an  unwitting 


270  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDE£. 

part  in  the  ruin  of  the  plot,  he  may  briefly  be  noticed  here. 
He  was  the  same  officer  who  under  Montgomery  had  borne 
so  active  share  in  the  capture  of  Andre's  regiment  at  Cham- 
bly ;  an  amiable,  well-informed  young  man,  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  French  tongue.  He  now  commanded  the  chief  out 
post  of  West  Point,  a  work  of  unusual  construction,  planned 
by  Gouvion,  and  hardly  to  be  reduced  without  time,  trouble, 
and  heavy  artillery.  Hither  he  was  ordered  with  his  regi 
ment  on  August  4th  ;  the  next  day  after  Arnold,  under  whose 
command  he  was  placed,  had  been  sent  to  West  Point.  Chas- 
tellux  remarks  on  a  breakfast  the  Colonel  gave  him  of  beef 
steaks,  tea,  and  grog :  his  larder  being  as  illy  supplied  as  his 
men's  wardrobe,  who  were  sent  in  because  they  were  the 
worst  clad  troops  in  the  army,  "  so  that  one  may  form  some 
idea  of  their  dress." 

Several  persons  were  dining  with  Arnold  when  Robinson's 
letter  was  brought  in.  Carelessly  glancing  over  it,  he  put  it 
in  his  pocket,  and  without  secrecy  mentioned  its  contents 
which  nominally  were  to  ask  an  interview.  Among  the 
guests  was  Colonel  Lamb,  the  second  in  command,  who  also 
had  taken  part  in  Andre's  capture  at  St.  Johns,  and  whose 
jaw  was  broken  by  a  musket  ball  with  Arnold  before  Quebec. 
He  was  too  a  good  French  linguist,  and  of  much  professional 
skill,  but  of  restless  genius  and  a  bad  temper,  said  Mont 
gomery  ;  brave,  active,  and  intelligent,  but  very  turbulent  and 
quarrelsome.  He  now  urged  solid  reasons  for  refusing  Rob 
inson's  request,  pointing  out  to  Arnold  the  occasion  such  an 
interview  would  give  for  suspecting  improper  communica 
tions  ;  and  not  resting  satisfied  with  a  promise  to  consult 
Washington  on  the  matter  till  he  had  ascertained  from  both 
parties  that  the  question  was  made  and  answered.  Arnold, 
however,  showed  Robinson's  letter  to  Washington  on  the 
evening  of  the  18th,  as  they  crossed  together  at  King's 
Ferry  ;  and  great  must  have  been  his  chagrin  at  the  pos 
itive  terms  in  which  he  was  advised  of  the  impropriety 
of  the  chief  commander  of  a  post  meeting  any  one  himself. 


ROBINSON  SENT   TO  ARNOLD.  271 

He  might  send  a  trusty  hand  if  he  thought  proper,  but  it  was 
better  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  business  that  pertained  to 
the  civil  authorities.  "  I  had  no  more  suspicion  of  Arnold 
than  I  had  of  myself,"  said  the  chief  in  relating  this.  This 
discourse  being  in  the  presence  of  others  discouraged  him 
from  a  step  so  plainly  disapproved  of  by  his  superior. 

There  were  several  circumstances  in  this  brief  voyage, 
noticed  without  suspicion  at  the  moment,  that  were  afterwards 
recalled  with  fearful  significancy.  One  was  Arnold's  unea 
siness  when,  after  carefully  examining  for  some  moments  the 
position  of  the  Vulture,  Washington  closed  his  glass  and  in  a 
low  tone  gave  an  order  or  made  a  remark  to  those  nearest 
him.  His  words  were  inaudible  to  the  traitor,  whose  heart 
must  have  quaked  lest  his  guilt  should  be  their  subject.  Still 
more  palpable  was  his  confusion  when  La  Fayette  turned  to 
him  and  said  —  "  General  Arnold,  since  you  have  a  corre 
spondence  with  the  enemy,  you  must  ascertain  as  soon  as  pos 
sible  what  has  become  of  Guichen  ! "  The  observation  had 
a  natural  origin  in  matters  that  had  already  passed  between 
himself  and  the  company ;  but  now  to  his  disturbed  con 
science  it  was  pregnant  with  cause  for  fear.  In  a  confused 
and  hasty  manner,  he  abruptly  demanded  what  La  Fayette 
meant  by  his  remark;  but  in  a  moment  recovering  himself, 
he  subsided  into  silence.  Ere  the  week  was  out,  the  witnesses 
of  the  scene  came  to  the  conclusion  that  for  the  instant  he 
thought  all  was  known  and  his  arrest  to  occur  on  the  spot. 

But  no  such  thing  was  dreamed  of.  Washington  and  his 
suite  passed  tranquilly  on  their  way ;  Arnold  accompanying 
them  as  far  as  Peekskill,  where  he  had  provided  for  their  re 
ception  and  where  he  and  they  passed  the  night  of  Monday, 
September  18th.  The  next  morning  they  parted  betimes, 
each  on  his  own  course  —  the  one  to  Hartford,  the  other  back 
to  West  Point.  This  was  the  last  occasion  of  Arnold's  meet 
ing  the  man  who  had  discerned  his  merit  when  it  was  denied 
and  obscured  by  his  first  employer,  Massachusetts ;  who  had 
placed  him  high  on  the  ladder  of  preferment,  and  had 


272  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR&. 

steadily  recognized,  despite  the  clamor  of  Congress  and  his 
subordinates,  the  existence  of  shining  qualities,  essential  in 
deed  to  a  general  but  not  of  universal  occurrence  in  our 
army ;  who  had  supported  firmly  his  lawful  pretensions 
against  the  injustice  of  their  common  masters ;  and  to  whose 
unwearied  integrity  he  owed  not  only  his  rank  but  his  com 
mand.  On  Arnold's  part  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  I  have  seen 
nothing  save  his  treason  to  induce  me  to  believe  him  one  of 
Washington's  enemies  and  maligners  ;  we  know  who  some  of 
these  were,  and  that  Arnold  was  not  their  friend.*  But  hu 
man  ingratitude  could  hardly  go  beyond  this  sacrifice  he  was 
now  bent  on  of  all  the  chief  held  dear  to  his  own  baser  in 
terests.  Washington  "  went  on  his  way,  and  he  saw  him  no 
more;"  and  with  him  went  happiness,  honor,  and  fame. 

On  the  loth,  Arnold  under  the  usual  disguise  had  written 
to  Andre,  but  there  was  probably  a  delay  in  the  letter's  trans 
mission.  Indeed  the  manner  in  which  the  correspondence 
was  all  along  conveyed  is  not  yet  known  ;  though  at  the  time 
Arnold  took  command  Moody,  the  well-known  partisan  and 
spy,  was  in  duress  at  West  Point,  and  his  condition  seems  to 
have  excited  the  general's  attention.  If  relations  existed 
between  these  two,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  sending 
messages  to  any  quarter.  When  he  answered  Robinson's 
letter  on  the  19th,  however,  and  in  general  terms  declined 
receiving  any  communications  except  of  a  public  nature,  he 
concealed  within  the  folds  of  his  ostensible  note  two  others 
of  a  very  different  tendency.  Each  of  these  documents  is 
erroneously  dated  as  of  the  18th. 


ARNOLD    TO    ROBINSON. 

September  18?/>,  1780.  —  SIR:  I  parted  with   his   Excel 
lency  General  Washington  this  morning,  who  advised  me  to 

*  In  Rivington's  Gazette,  Dec.  19th,  1778,  is  an  assertion  that  Arnold 
was  engaged  at  that  time  with  Minim,  St.  Clair,  and  Thompson,  in  an  in 
trigue  to  remove  Washington ;  but  Rivington's  unsupported  authority  in 
such  a  matter  is  of  little  value. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  273 

avoid  seeing  you,  as  it  would  occasion  suspicions  in  the  minds 
of  some  people,  which  might  operate  to  my  injury.  His 
reasons  appear  to  me  to  be  well  founded  ;  but,  if  I  were  of  a 
different  opinion,  I  could  not  with  propriety  see  you  at  pres 
ent.  I  shall  send  a  person  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  or  on  board  the 
Vulture,  Wednesday  night  the  20th  instant,  and  furnish  him 
with  a  boat  and  a  flag  of  truce.  You  may  depend  on  his 
secrecy  and  honor,  and  that  your  business  of  whatever  na 
ture  shall  be  kept  a  profound  secret ;  and,  if  it  is  a  matter  in 
which  I  can  officially  act,  I  will  do  every  thing  in  my  power 
to  oblige  you  consistently  with  my  duty.  To  avoid  censure, 
this  matter  must  be  conducted  with  the  greatest  secrecy.  I 
think  it  will  be  advisable  for  the  Vulture  to  remain  where 
she  is  until  the  time  appointed.  I  have  enclosed  a  letter  for 
a  gentleman  in  New  York  from  one  in  the  country  on  pri 
vate  business,  which  I  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  forward,  and 
make  no  doubt  he  will  be  particular  to  come  at  the  time 
appointed.  I  am,  &c. 

P.  S.  I  expect  General  Washington  to  lodge  here  on 
Saturday  night  next,  and  will  lay  before  him  any  matter  you 
may  wish  to  communicate. 


GUSTAVUS    TO    JOHN    ANDERSON. 

September  15th.  —  SIR:  On  the  llth  at  noon,  agreeably 
to  your  request,  I  attempted  to  go  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  but  was 
prevented  by  the  armed  boats  of  the  enemy,  which  fired  upon 
us  ;  and  I  continued  opposite  the  Ferry  till  sunset. 

The  foregoing  letter  was  written  to  caution  you  not  to 
mention  your  business  to  Colonel  Sheldon,  or  any  other 
person.  I  have  no  confidant.  I  have  made  one  too 
many  already,  who  has  prevented  some  profitable  specula 
tions. 

I  will  send  a  person  in  whom  you  can  confide  by  water  to 
meet  you  at  Dobb's  Ferry  at  the  landing  on  the  east  side,  on 
18 


274  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

Wednesday  the  20th  instant,  who  will  conduct  you  to  a  place 
of  safety,  where  I  will  meet  you.  It  will  be  necessary  for 
you  to  be  disguised,  and,  if  the  enemy's  boats  are  there,  it 
will  favor  my  plan,  as  the  person  is  not  suspected  by  them. 
If  I  do  not  hear  from  you  before,  you  may  depend  on  the 
person's  being  punctual  at  the  place  above  mentioned. 

My  partner,  of  whom  I  hinted  in  a  former  letter,  has  about 
ten  thousand  pounds  cash  in  hand  ready  for  a  speculation  if 
any  should  offer,  which  appears  profitable.  I  have  also  one 
thousand  pounds  on  hand,  and  can  collect  fifteen  hundred 
more  in  two  or  three  days.  Add  to  this  I  have  some  credit. 
From  these  hints  you  may  judge  of  the  purchase  that  can  be 
made.  I  cannot  be  more  explicit  at  present.  Meet  me  if 
possible.  You  may  rest  assured,  that,  if  there  is  no  danger 
in  passing  your  lines,  you  will  be  perfectly  safe  where  I  pro 
pose  a  meeting,  of  which  you  shall  be  informed  on  Wednes 
day  evening,  if  you  think  proper  to  be  at  Dobb's  Ferry. 
Adieu,  and  be  assured  of  the  friendship  of  GUSTAVUS. 

September  18th.  —  The  foregoing  I  found  means  to  send 
by  a  very  honest  fellow,  who  went  to  Kingsbridge  on  the 
16th,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  have  received  it.  But  as 
there  is  a  possibility  of  its  miscarriage,  I  send  a  copy,  and 
am  fully  persuaded  that  the  method  I  have  pointed  out  to 
meet  you  is  the  best  and  safest,  provided  you  can  obtain 
leave  to  come  out.* 

*  See  Sparks's  Wash,  vii.  527;  and  "  The  Case  of  Major  John  Andre1, 
Adjutant-General  to  the  British  Army,  Who  was  put  to  Death  by  the 
Rebels,  October  2,  1780,  Candidly  Represented:  with  Remarks  on  the  said 
Case.  'If  there  were  no  other  Brand  upon  this  odious  and  accursed  Civil 
War,  than  that  single  Loss,  it  must  be  most  infamous  and  execrable  to 
all  Posterity.' — Lord  Clarendon."  New  York,  Rivington,  1780.  4to. 
pp.  27.  This  rare  tract  was  apparently  drawn  up  with  Clinton's  knowl 
edge,  but  probably  never  published.  The  only  copy  I  have  seen  is  made 
up  of  the  printer's  proofs.  The  above  letter  differs  from  that  given  by 
Mr.  Sparks  in  containing  the  words  by  water  in  the  third  section,  and  all  in 
the  fourth  after  Adieu.  The  fourth  section  omits  also  all  to  the  word  MteL 
The  preface  to  the  tract  is  dated  Nov.  28,  1780. 


ANDRE  GOES  TO  THE  VULTURE.      275 

In  his  formal  reply  to  Arnold's  public  letter,  Robinson 
enclosed  the  assurance  that  he  would  remain  on  board  and 
hoped  that  Anderson  would  come  up.  Meantime,  those  re 
ceived  were  forwarded  to  New  York;  and  Rodney  as  it 
would  seem  was  now,  on  the  night  of  the  19th,  called  into 
counsel  on  their  consideration.  To  his  active  ready-witted 
mind,  there  could  have  appeared  little  difficulty  in  pushing  the 
business  through  :  and  with  some  reluctance  Clinton,  whose 
various  capacities  of  statesman,  general,  and  diplomatist  com 
bined  to  tinge  with  procrastination  all  he  undertook,  con 
sented  that  Andre  should  go  with  a  flag  to  Dobb's  Ferry. 
But  all  parties  appear  to  have  forgotten  that  adoption  of  the 
Admiral's  advice  involved  regard  to  his  habits  of  action ;  and 
it  is  very  certain  that  he  would  never  have  suffered  the  en 
voy  to  go  on  shore  without  a  reasonable  assurance  of  his 
getting  back  again. 

Arrangements  were  speedily  made.  Andre  wrote  to  Robin 
son  and  Captain  Sutherland  of  the  Vulture,  bidding  them  fall 
down  to  the  Ferry,  and  was  in  the  end  the  bearer  of  his  own 
letters.  Clinton  gave  him  his  parting  orders,  enjoining 
everything  that  prudence  could  suggest,  and  especially 
charging  him  to  preserve  his  uniform  and  to  avoid  receiving 
papers.  On  this  last  point  indeed  Sir  Henry  was  ever  pre 
cise.  In  the  spring  of  1779,  when  a  commissary  was  going 
from  New  York  to  the  Convention  prisoners  at  Charlottes- 
ville,  he  was  commissioned  with  details  for  Phillips  of  the 
manreuvres  at  Monmouth.  As  he  related  them,  Clinton 
sketched  some  hasty  plans  of  the  various  evolutions  of  the 
clay  ;  but  recollecting  himself,  said  — "  Clark,  you  must  not 
take  these,  for  if  the  Americans  find  them  on  you,  they'll 
certainly  hang  you ;  therefore  only  tell  General  Phillips, 
that  on  that  day  I  fought  upon  velvet:  he  will  fully  under 
stand  me."  In  fact,  so  far  as  can  be  judged,  no  papers  from 
Arnold  were  needed.  His  letter  just  given  states  clearly 
enough  his  own  effective  force  and  Washington's  :  conversa 
tion  could  have  settled  the  plan  of  attack  ;  and  Robinson  and 


276  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    ANDRE. 

his  loyal  dependents  must  have  furnished  guides  to  every 
gorge  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  ancient  home. 

Marbois  gives  a  highly  colored  account  of  the  scene  be 
tween  Clinton  and  Andre  on  this  occasion  ;  and  whether 
imagination  or  memory  supplied  its  facts,  there  is  a  con 
sistency  in  this  part  of  his  story  which  commands  our  atten 
tion,  if  it  does  not  receive  our  faith.  The  interview,  he  says, 
was  insisted  on  by  Arnold  as  a  condition  precedent  to  any 
further  action.  So  far  all  had  prospered  to  his  wish.  There 
were  heard  none  of  those  vague,  sinister  rumors  that  usually 
attend  the  explosion  of  a  conspiracy  :  never  had  a  design 
so  prodigious  more  happily  approached  its  appointed  term. 
This  profound  secrecy  was  owing  to  Arnold's  care  that  the 
matter  should  remain '  concealed  in  his  own  bosom  and  those 
of  Robinson  and  Andre  ;  and  this  was  one  of  his  motives  for 
wishing  to  place  in  no  other  hands  the  information  needful  to 
bring  matters  to  a  head.  But  on  the  other  part,  he  con 
tinues,  Clinton  saw  more  danger  than  practical  advantage  in 
the  rendezvous.  He  had  previously  refused  to  sanction  it 
with  his  permission,  and  he  now  feared  lest  so  many  pre 
cautionary  measures  should  serve  only  to  bring  an  unlucky 
end  to  an  enterprise  that  hitherto  had  progressed  so  smoothly, 
but  in  so  much  danger.  Andre,  however,  to  whom  great 
share  of  the  glory  of  success  must  ensue,  burned  with  im 
patience  to  play  his  part.  He  had  even,  says  our  chronicler, 
conceived  a  hope  more  ambitious  by  far  than  the  seizure  of 
the  forts.  He  thought  now  to  fix  the  surrender  on  the  very 
day  of  Washington's  return  to  West  Point,  and  thus  to 
crown  his  achievements  with  the  capture  of  our  main  stay 
and  chief.  But  apprehending  that  Clinton  would  not  view 
this  idea  with  favor,  he  contented  himself  with  the  request 
to  meet  Arnold  for  the  purposes  already  discussed.  The 
English  general  at  length  consented  ;  and  Marbois  pretends 
to  give  (in  translation,  of  course)  the  very  words  he  spoke. 

"  Mon  enfant,"  lui  dit-il,  "  ton  entreprise  exige  encore  plus 
de  sagesse  que  d'audace,  conduis-la  suivant  ton  desir  jusqu'a 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  CLINTON.  277 

ce  qu'elle  soit  consomraee  ;  va  trouver  Arnold,  puisque  tu  crois 
la  chose  necessaire.  Je  connois  ton  courage,  et,  si  ta  pru 
dence  j  repond,  je  suis  assure  du  succes.  Va,  mon  ami,  finis 
d'un  seul  coup  cette  guerre  ;  ta  famille  est  maintenant  Ang- 
laise.  Tu  seras  done  compte  parmi  les  heros  de  notre  pays, 
et  celebre  chez  tous  les  peuples  et  dans  tous  les  siecles." 

Early  on  the  20th,  Andre  started  for  Dobb's  Ferry,  whence 
he  proposed  to  send  his  letters  to  the  ship.  The  tide  was 
with  him,  and  he  determined  to  push  on  to  where  the  Vul 
ture  lay,  rather  than  thwart  Arnold's  expressed  wish  by 
altering  her  position.  About  seven  p.  M.  he  got  on  board 
in  Haverstraw  Bay,  a  little  above  Teller's  Point ;  and  the 
night  was  passed  in  anxious  expectation  of  the  appearance 
of  his  confederate.  But  no  signal  or  message  came  ;  and 
morning  found  him  bitterly  disappointed.  He  feared  too 
that  his  absence  would  be  noted  at  New  York ;  and  that  — 
which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  case  —  he  had  him 
self  missed  Arnold  by  coming  to  the  ship,  instead  of  waiting 
at  the  Ferry.  Unwilling,  however,  to  lose  the  last  chance, 
he  made  an  excuse  to  Clinton  for  his  prolonged  stay  in  a 
note  that  might  be  safely  read  by  any  of  the  staff. 

ANDRE    TO    CLINTON. 

On  board  the  Vulture,  21  Sept.  1780.  —  SIR  :  As  the  tide 
was  favorable  on  my  arrival  at  the  sloop  yesterday,  I  de 
termined  to  be  myself  the  bearer  of  your  Excellency's  let 
ters  as  far  as  the  Vulture.  I  have  suffered  for  it,  having 
caught  a  very  bad  cold,  and  had  so  violent  a  return  of  a  dis 
order  in  my  stomach,  which  had  attacked  me  a  few  days  ago, 
that  Capt.  Sutherland  and  Col.  Robinson  insist  on  my  re 
maining  on  board  until  I  am  better.  I  hope  to-morrow  to 
get  down  again.  I  have  the  honor,  &c. 

With  this,  which  was  received  by  Sir  Henry  on  the  day 
of  its  date,  was  another  and  more  important  communication. 


278  LIFE  Of    MAJOR  AXDR& 


ANDRE    TO    CLINTON. 

On  board  the  Vulture,  21  September,  1780.  —  SIR:  I  got 
on  board  the  Vulture  at  about  7  o'clock  last  night ;  and  after 
considering  upon  the  letters  and  the  answer  given  by  Colonel 
Robinson,  "  that  he  would  remain  on  board,  and  hoped  J 
should  be  up,"  we  thought  it  most  natural  to  expect  the  Man 
I  sent  into  the  Country  here,  and  therefore  did  not  think  of 
going  to  the  Ferry. 

Nobody  has  appeared.  This  is  the  second  excursion  I 
have  made  without  an  ostensible  reason,  and  Colonel  Robin 
son  both  times  of  the  party.  A  third  would  infallibly  fire 
suspicions.  I  have  therefore  thought  it  best  to  remain  here 
on  pretence  of  sickness,  as  my  inclosed  letter  will  feign,  and 
try  further  expedients.  Yesterday  the  pretence  of  a  flag  of 
truce  was  made  to  draw  people  from  the  Vulture  on  shore. 
The  boat  was  fired  upon  in  violation  of  the  customs  of  war. 
Capt.  Sutherland  with  great  propriety  means  to  send  a  flag 
to  complain  of  this  to  General  Arnold.  A  boat  from  the 
Vulture  had  very  nearly  taken  him  on  the  llth.  He  was 
pursued  close  to  the  float.  I  shall  favor  him  with  a  news 
paper  containing  the  Carolina  news,  which  I  brought  with 
me  from  New  York  for  Anderson,  to  whom  it  is  addressed, 
on  board  the  Vulture.  I  have  the  honor,  &c.* 

Andre  had  boarded  the  Vulture  in  the  highest  spirits,  con 
fident  of  success  ;  nor  was  even  the  cautious  and  circumspect 
Robinson  disposed  to  believe  in  a  failure.  In  fact  Robinson 
was  placed  in  his  present  position  because,  among  other  rea 
sons,  his  character  for  clear-headedness  stood  as  high  as  his 
reputation  for  probity  and  honor ;  and  it  was  intended  that 
should  the  negotiation  be  consummated  by  Andre  rather  than 
himself,  he  should  at  least  exercise  a  wholesome  check  over 
his  coadjutor's  buoyancy.  At  this  moment,  neither  of  them 
seem  to  have  dreamed  of  leaving  the  ship  ;  they  thought  on 

*  MS. —  Sir  H.  Clintou's  Narr. 


SUTHERLAND  TO  ARNOLD.  279 

the  contrary  that  Arnold  would  come  on  board,  and  but  for 
one  of  those  unexpected  occurrences  which,  happening  from 
time  to  time  to  mock  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  and  the  valor 
of  the  brave,  it  is  probable  that  Andre  would  have  returned 
to  New  York  unsuccessful  but  unscathed.  It  is  by  such 
means  that  we  are  led  oftentimes  to  ponder  the  saying  of  the 
wise  Fabius  :  —  eventus  stultorum  magister. 

Traditional  history  relates  that  on  the  20th  of  September, 
some  young  men  with  their  guns  came  to  a  farmer  who  was 
pressing  cider,  and  called  for  a  draught  from  the  mill.  Per 
haps  to  get  rid  of  them,  they  were  told  that  the  Vulture  was 
anchored  in  the  stream  hard  by.  They  went  on  to  the  shore, 
and  finding  it  even  so,  concealed  themselves  behind  the  rocks 
while  a  white  flag,  or  its  semblance,  was  so  displayed  on  the 
strand  as  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  ship.  A  boat  with  a 
responsive  ensign  was  dispatched  —  doubtless  through  Rob 
inson's  mediation,  and  in  hope  of  communication  with  Arnold 
—  to  see  what  was  wanted.  So  soon  as  it  was  within  range 
it  was  fired  on  by  the  ambuscade  that  had  adopted  this 
treacherous  mode  of  assailing  the  enemy,  and  which  was 
enabled  by  its  position  to  fly  to  places  of  security  on  the 
first  sign  of  pursuit.  It  is  occasion  of  shame  to  an  Ameri 
can  to  be  compelled  to  relate  how  treason  was  thus  blindly 
fought  by  treason :  since  it  was  through  this  unjustifiable  affair 
that  the  interview  between  Andre  and  Arnold  was  induced, 
and  their  consequent  detection  occasioned.  For  besides  the 
device  of  the  newspaper,  a  complaint  of  the  wrong,  signed 
indeed  by  Sutherland  but  countersigned  by  John  Anderson, 
secretary,  and  in  his  handwriting,  was  sent  with  a  flag  to 
Arnold  on  the  morning  of  the  21st. 


SUTHERLAND    TO    ARNOLD. 

Vulture,  off  Teller's  Point,  21  September.  —  SIR  :  I  con 
sider  it  a  duty  to  complain  of  any  violation  of  the  laws  of 
arms,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  I  now  do  it  where  I  cannot  fail 


280  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDFv£. 

to  meet  redress.  It  is  therefore  with  reluctance  I  give  you 
the  concern  to  know,  that,  a  flag  of  truce  having  been  yester 
day  shown  on  Teller's  Point,  I  sent  a  boat  towards  the  shore, 
presuming  some  communication  was  thereby  solicited.  The 
boat's  crew  on  approaching  received  a  fire  from  several 
armed  men,  who  till  then  had  been  concealed.  Fortunately 
none  of  my  people  were  hurt,  but  the  treacherous  intentions 
of  those  who  fired  are  not  vindicated  from  that  circumstance. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  Arnold,  and  see  what  were  his  plans  for 
those  communications  that  he  had  not  dared  to  trust  on  paper. 

Two  miles  and  a  half  below  Stony  Point,  in  a  square, 
two-storied  stone  house  that  still  stands  on  the  llaverstraw 
Road,  dwelt  a  man  of  substance  •named  Joshua  Hett  Smith. 
His  general  reputation  was  that  of  a  warm  whig,  but  Lamb, 
whose  wife  was  a  connection,  seems  to  have  set  him  down  as 
a  disaffected  person,  and  forbade  any  intimacy  between  the 
households.  In  truth  he  appears  to  have  been  one  of  that 
class  who  run  with  the  hare  and  hunt  with  the  hounds.  His 
brother  the  Chief-Justice,  now  a  warm  loyalist  in  New  York, 
was  said  by  his  fellows  to  have  hung  back  till  the  conquest  of 
America  was  deemed  certain.  Another  brother  at  London 
was  charged  with  seditious  practices  there.  He  himself,  how 
ever,  was  a  man  of  education  and  intelligence  ;  and  probably 
was  chiefly  careful  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  whomsoever 
was  uppermost,  while  in  heart  he  preferred  a  reconciliation 
with  Britain  on  the  terms  then  offered,  to  a  continuance  of  the 
war  for  Independence.  He  was  withal  a  timorous,  yet  a  pry 
ing,  bustling  sort  of  character ;  delighted  to  have  a  hand  in 
weighty  affairs,  but  devoid  of  the  nerve  to  carry  him  with 
good  assurance  through  their  implications. 

Familiar  in  his  social  habits,  well  acquainted  with  the 
country  and  its  inhabitants,  and  a  landholder  of  some  conse 
quence,  Smith  had  been  usefully  employed  by  the  American 
general  Howe  to  bring  intelligence  to  West  Point,  and  it  was 


JOSHUA  HETT  SMITH.  281 

very  natural  Arnold  should,  on  taking  command,  be  soon 
brought  into  relations  with  him.  He  was  not  long  in  sound 
ing  the  character  of  the  man,  and  resolving  to  make  of  him 
a  convenient  tool.  For  though  it  is  altogether  likely  that- 
enough  of  the  affair  was  confided  to  let  Smith  perceive  he 
was  engaging  in  an  intrigue  detrimental  to  Congress  and  In 
dependence,  it  is  incredible  that  the  whole  of  the  portentous 
secret  should  be  committed  to  such  a  shallow  vessel.  But  in 
the  friendly  intercourse  that  arose,  Arnold  conveyed  to  Smith 
the  intention  of  employing  him  as  a  go-between  to  bring  a 
British  agent  within  the  American  lines.  With  no  other  ev 
idence  than  his  own,  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  the  revela 
tions  to  Smith  were  carried :  but  the  conflicting  statements  of 
his  Trial  and  his  Narrative  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  one  case  his  life  was  at  stake,  and  he  sought  to 
make  the  best  story  he  could  for  the  Americans ;  in  the 
other,  he  endeavored  to  vindicate  his  reputation  with  the 
English.  "With  these  lights,  we  may  grope  a  little  less 
blindly  in  the  maze  of  his  contradictions. 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  Arnold  had  already  disclosed  the 
ground  he  wished  to  stand  on.  He  inveighed  against  the 
French  alliance,  and  dilated  on  the  unnatural  union  between 
a  despotic  monarch  and  an  insurgent  people  fighting  for  free 
dom.  He  expatiated  on  the  reasonableness  of  the  terms  pro 
posed  by  the  Commissioners  of  1778,  which  he  averred  were 
proffered  in  all  sincerity  and  good  faith,  and  were  fully  ac 
ceptable  to  the  great  mass  of  Americans.  He  insinuated 
that  Robinson  was  the  bearer  of  propositions  even  more  fa 
vorable,  and  such  as  could  not  but  deserve  and  receive  ac 
ceptance.  He  owned  his  desire  for  peace  and  his  weariness 
of  a  war  in  which  he  had  to  contend  not  only  against  the 
arms  of  the  enemy,  but  the  persecution  of  the  Pennsylvania 
government  and  the  entire  ingratitude  of  Congress.  "  Smith," 
said  he,  "  here  am  I  now,  after  having  fought  the  battles  of 
my  country,  and  find  myself  with  a  ruined  constitution  and 
this  limb  "  (holding  up  his  wounded  leg)  "  now  rendered  use- 


282  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDKlL 

less  to  me.  At  the  termination  of  this  war,  where  can  I  seek 
for  compensation  for  such  damages  as  I  have  sustained  ?"  It 
is  impossible  not  to  recognize  in  this  language  that  deep  re 
sentment  of  real  and  of  fancied  wrongs  which  had  first  bent 
Arnold's  mind  to  his  present  course. 

Having  resolved  that  his  interview  with  the  British  mes 
senger  should  be  within  the  American  lines,  he  fixed  on 
Smith's  house  for  the  stage,  and  its  owner  to  conduct  him 
thither.  By  Smith's  own  account,  this  arrangement  was 
made  about  the  19th  or  20th  September;  but  the  more  prob 
able  theory  of  Mr.  Sparks  carries  it  back  to  the  14th  or  loth, 
when  Arnold  met  his  wife  there  on  her  arrival  and  escorted 
her  up  to  his  quarters.  However  this  may  be,  the  upshot  of 
the  matter  was  that  Smith  consented  to  all  that  was  asked. 
He  took  his  family  to  Fislikill,  thirty  miles  from  his  residence 
and  about  eighteen  from  head-quarters,  that  the  house  might 
be  empty  ;  and  returning  as  directed  to  Robinson's  House 
on  the  19th,  received,  says  Mr.  Sparks,  the  necessary  papers 
to  pass  to  Dobb's  Ferry  or  the  Vulture  on  the  evening  of 
the  20th,  and  bring  away  the  expected  agent.  Smith  indeed 
asserts  that  Arnold  himself  brought  them  to  his  house  at 
Haverstraw:  but  the  point  is  of  little  consequence.  For 
want  of  a  boat  or  of  boatmen,  he  did  not  fulfil  his  commission, 
nor  indeed  was  he  very  ardent  to  do  so ;  but  he  notified  his 
employer  of  the  omission  by  an  express  during  the  night.  It 
must  then  have  been  Arnold's  scheme  to  have  passed  the  day 
with  Robinson  or  Andre  at  Smith's  house,  and  to  have  sent 
him  back  on  the  next  night ;  for  Smith's  note  found  him  in  bed 
at  head-quarters.  It  would  appear  that  he  had  rather  wished 
Smith  to  find  boatmen  among  his  own  tenantry  than  to  em 
ploy  such  as  pertained  to  the  regular  service  ;  and  had  also 
arranged  for  him  a  protection  and  a  password  by  means  of 
which  he  might  at  any  time  traverse  our  lines  on  land  or 
water  without  hindrance.  Riding  down,  however,  after 
breakfast  to  Verplanck's  Point,  and  finding  that  an  order  on 
the  quartermaster  to  supply  a  light  boat  was  unfulfilled,  he 


JOSHUA  HETT  SMITH.  283 

directed  that  his  own  or  a  barge  he  had  sent  for  should  be 
carried  into  the  creek  by  Smith's  house  as  soon  as  it  arrived. 
At  the  same  time  he  received  from  Livingston  the  letter  that 
had  just  been  brought  from  the  Vulture  to  inform  him  of 
Andre's  being  on  board.  In  the  afternoon  he  crossed  over  to 
Smith's  and  prepared  for  the  adventures  of  the  night. 
On  the  preceding  day  Arnold  had  given  Smith  a  pass : 

Head- Quarters,  Robinson  House,  September  20,  1780. — 
Permission  is  given  to  Joshua  Smith,  Esquire,  a  gentle 
man,  Mr.  John  Anderson,  who  is  with  him,  and  his  two  ser 
vants,  to  pass  and  repass  the  guards  near  King's  Ferry  at  all 
times.  B.  ARNOLD,  M.  Genl. 

This  was  intended  doubtless  for  his  voyage  to  the  Vulture. 
On  the  morning  of  the  21st,  when  he  learned  that  the  ex 
cursion  had  not  been  made,  he  conceived  it  possible  that  he 
might  yet  have  to  send  to  Dobb's  Ferry :  wherefore  an 
additional  pass  was  given :  — 

Head- Quarters,  Robinson  House,  September  21,  1780. — 
Permission  is  given  to  Joshua  Smith,  Esq.,  to  go  to  Dobb's 
Ferry  with  three  Men  and  a  Boy  with  a  Flag  to  carry  some 
Letters  of  a  private  Nature  for  Gentlemen  in  New  York  and 
to  return  immediately.  B.  ARNOLD,  M.  Genl. 

N.  B.  He  has  permission  to  go  at  such  hours  and  times 
as  the  tide  and  his  business  suits.  B.  A. 

Smith  had  relied  for  boatmen  on  a  couple  of  his  tenants, 
Samuel  and  Joseph  Colquhoun :  simple,  honest  men,  he  says, 
accustomed  to  the  water,  and  possessing  his  confidence.  It 
required,  however,  considerable  expostulation,  and  the  prom 
ise  of  a  handsome  reward  for  compliance  as  well  as  threats  of 
punishment  if  they  refused,  ere  they  yielded  to  his  wishes  and 
Arnold's.  They  were  wearied  already,  and  they  distrusted  a 
night-voyage  to  the  enemy.  The  watchword  Congress  was 


' 


284  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

given,  which  would  secure  them  from  interruption  by  our 
guard-boats  ;  and  both  Smith  and  themselves  were  assured 
that  the  business  was  well  understood  by  the  British  officers 
and  the  American,  but  that  it  was  necessary  for  certain  rea 
sons  to  keep  the  matter  from  the  tongues  of  the  vulgar.  At 
last  they  yielded,  and  towards  midnight  of  the  21st,  the  boat 
'  pushed  from  the  creek  towards  the  Hudson.  No  flag  was 
displayed  from  its  bow  ;  but  the  oarsmen  as  well  as  their 
passenger  testify  that  they  were  told  by  Arnold  and  actually 
considered  it  was  a  flag-boat  to  the  Vulture.  How  far  the  fact 
that  it  was  now  an  hour  when  a  flag  could  not  have  been 
seen  if  exhibited,  and  the  passes  just  given,  together  with  the 
ensuing  letter,  go  to  justify  this  assertion,  the  military  reader 
must  decide.  Both  Arnold  and  Smith  charged  the  men  to 
have  nothing  to  say  to  the  crew,  —  an  injunction  that  was 
probably  entirely  disregarded.  In  returning,  the  boat  was 
to  make  for  a  place  at  low-water  mark  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  between  King's  Ferry  and  the  ship,  being  the 
Toot  of  a  mountain  called  the  Long  Clove.  This  spot  is 
about  five  miles  from  Smith's  house,  and  two  below  Hav- 
erstraw ;  and  hither  Arnold  proceeded  on  horseback  attend 
ed  by  Smith's  negro  servant  also  mounted.  The  letter  sent 
to  Robinson  was  as  follows  :  — 


ARNOLD    TO    ROBINSON. 

September  21,  1780.  —  SIR:  —  This  will  be  delivered  to 
you  by  Mr.  Smith  who  will  conduct  you  to  a  place  of  Safety. 
Neither  Mr.  Smith  or  any  other  person  shall  be  made  ac 
quainted  with  your  proposals.  If  they  (which  I  doubt  not) 
are  of  such  a  nature  that  I  can  officially  take  notice  of  them, 
I  shall  do  it  with  pleasure.  If  not,  you  shall  be  permitted  to 
return  immediately.  I  take  it  for  granted  Colonel  Robinson 
will  not  propose  anything  that  is  not  for  the  interest  of  the 
United  States  as  well  as  himself.  I  am,  sir,  &c. 


ARNOLD'S   LETTER  TO  ROBINSON.  285 

The  art  of  this  letter  will  be  observed.  Had  it  been  in 
tercepted,  its  writer  might  have  been  condemned  for  impru 
dence,  but  hardly  compromised  further.  It  would  be  easy 
for  him  to  allege  a  conviction  that  Robinson  was  prepared  to 
regain  his  estate  at  the  cost  of  his  honor. 

Their  oars  carefully  muffled  with  sheepskins,  the  voyagers 
passed  noiselessly  from  the  creek  into  the  river.  It  was  the 
tail  of  ebb  as  they  glided  softly  and  unnoticed  under  the  shad 
ow  of  the  shore  into  full  view  of  the  works  of  Stony  Point ; 
and  as  their  boat  silently  speeded  along  with  a  favoring  tide, 
they  drew  fresh  energy  from  the  consciousness  of  uninterrup- 
tion.  The  sky  was  serene  and  clear,  and  everything  hushed 
and  still.  Little  was  said  on  the  way.  The  twelve  miles 
between  King's  Ferry  and  Teller's  Point  were  soon  over 
passed,  and  the  spars  of  the  Vulture  rose  in  view  indistinct 
through  the  gloom.  As  they  came  near,  they  were  hailed 
from  the  ship,  and  brought  to  by  her  side.  By  this  time  the 
tide  was  young  flood,  and  the  three  men  stood  up  in  the  boat 
fending  off  from  the  Vulture  till  Smith  was  ordered  to  come 
on  board.  Some  rude  salutations  were  passed  by  the  officer 
of  the  deck ;  and  in  a  moment  a  ship-boy  appeared,  and  bade 
the  visitor  descend  to  the  captain's  cabin. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Andre"   leaves  the  Vulture.  —  Interview  with  Arnold  and  its  Results. — 
Plans  for  Return.  —  Sets  out  with  Smith  by  Land. 

ON  entering  the  cabin  Smith  was  politely  received  by  his 
old  acquaintance  Robinson  who,  in  full  regimentals,  was 
probably  awaiting  Arnold's  arrival.  He  was  presented  to 
Sutherland,  who  lay  ill  in  his  berth  ;  and  offered  a  seat. 
Robinson  then  proceeded  to  the  perusal  of  the  letter  ;  after 
which,  apologizing  for  a  momentary  absence  and  ordering 
refreshments  to  be  brought,  he  left  the  room.  During  the 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  that  elapsed,  Smith  says  he  took 
the  opportunity  of  commenting  on  his  rough  reception  on 
deck.  The  captain's  politeness  made  him  amends,  and  the 
conversation  then  turned  on  indifferent  subjects. 

Meanwhile,  Robinson  and  Andre  (who  was  at  the  time  in 
bed)  were  pondering  on  Arnold's  letter.  As  the  former  was 
not  named  in  the  pass  he  declined,  and  probably  did  not 
wish,  to  go  himself  to  the  shore  ;  and  Marbois  says  that  he 
earnestly  urged  Andre  not  to  go.  For  his  own  part,  he  posi 
tively  refused  to  leave  the  ship  ;  but  I  find  no  evidence  that 
he  questioned  the  lawfulness  of  his  companion's  doing  so. 
The  letter  and  passes  were  examined  by  the  three  British 
officers  ;  and  they  all  thought  that  Andre  at  least  might  un 
der  them  seek  the  shore  without  derogation  to  the  customs 
of  war.  Nor  did  the  feigned  name  by  which  he  went  alter 
the  case  in  their  opinion,  since  it  was  assumed  by  request  of 
the  general  issuing  the  safe-conduct,  whose  authority  to  grant 
such  documents  was  in  this  district  supreme  and  unquestion 
able.  Andre  was  therefore  not  to  be  balked,  nor  willing  to 


ANDR£  LEAVES  THE  VULTURE.       "    /  287 

risk  the  loss  of  so  valuable  a  prize  by  refusing  the  last 
chance  of  coming  to  terms  with  the  American  leader.  Dur 
ing  the  night  of  the  20th,  and  all  through  the  21st,  he  had 
anxiously  anticipated  the  expected  flag,  and  was  full  of  fear 
lest  some  misadventure  had  occurred;  and  on  the  moment 
of  Smith's  arrival,  he  hurried  from  his  bed  and  was  impatient 
to  be  gone.  He  evidently  considered  himself  exposed  to  no 
other  risk  than  that  of  being  perhaps  detained  by  Arnold 
or  by  some  other  American ;  certainly  he  was  careful  to 
refuse  anything  that  might  prevent  his  claiming  from  an 
enemy  the  privileges  of  his  quality.  Sutherland  suggested 
that  he  might  wish  to  lay  off  his  regimental  coat,  and  offered 
him  other  apparel ;  but  the  proposal  was  not  accepted.  He 
had  Clinton's  orders,  he  said,  to  go  in  his  uniform,  and  by  no 
means  to  relinquish  his  character ;  and  added  that  he  had 
not  the  least  fear  for  his  safety,  and  was  ready  to  attend 
Arnold's  messenger,  when  and  where  he  pleased.  It  would 
certainly  appear  as  though  he  at  least  had  contemplated  all 
along  the  plan  of  going  to  Arnold  if  Arnold  would  not  come 
to  him. 

When  therefore  Robinson  reentered  the  cabin  he  was  ac 
companied  by  Andre,  whom  Smith  had  not  yet  seen  and  to 
whom,  as  Anderson,  he  was  now  introduced  by  Robinson 
with  the  remark  that  he  himself  should  not  go  on  shore,  but 
that  this  person  was  authorized  by  Arnold  to  take  his  place. 
Andre  was  evidently  equipped  for  the  journey.  Over  his 
uniform  was  a  large  blue  watch-coat,  such  as  might  appro 
priately  be  worn  in  a  September  night  upon  the  water ;  and 
his  large  boots  were  visible  below.  Whether  this  surtout  al 
together  hid  the  clothing  beneath  from  the  boatmen  may  be 
doubted  ;  it  did  not  from  Smith,  and  it  is  evident  they  all 
knew  themselves  engaged  in  a  business  that  was  not  without 
suspicion,  though  at  the  future  investigation  they  declared 
the  most  entire  ignorance  of  everything  that  was  not  already 
in  proof.  Before  leaving  the  ship,  moreover,  Smith  says  he 
told  the  captain  of  the  size  of  his  boat  and  the  probable  dif- 


288  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDKlL 

ficulty  of  returning,  and  asked  for  the  loan  of  two  oarsmen 
from  the  crew  :  which  request  was  denied.  I  much  ques 
tion  whether,  at  the  distance  of  time  when  this  statement  was 
published,  its  exact  purport  may  not  have  become  a  little 
obscured.  If  the  demand  was  made  it  would  probably  have 
been  complied  with,  for  Andre  must  have  expected  to  return 
that  night ;  and  when  as  they  were  about  to  start,  Robinson 
suggested  that  so  large  a  boat  with  but  two  oars  would  be 
long  on  the  way,  and  urged  that  the  Vulture  should  send  her 
yawl  to  tow  them  as  far  as  convenient,  Smith  declined  the 
offer  lest  a  water-patrol  should  encounter  them,  and  consider 
the  presence  of  the  English  an  infringement  of  the  flag.  In 
the  former  case,  to  be  sure,  the  two  new  men  would  have 
been  nominally  covered  by  the  pass  ;  but  in  either,  as  it 
turned  out,  it  had  been  well  for  the  British  to  have  car 
ried  out  the  suggestion.  No  guard-boat  was  in  the  way  ; 
the  Vulture's  armed  barge  might  have  safely  come  and  gone ; 
and  two  of  her  seamen  in  Smith's  boat  would  have  brought 

O 

Andre  back  unharmed  and  undiscovered.  But  all  parties  on 
board  seem  to  have  considered  it  certain  that  Arnold's  pass 
protected  him  from  danger,  and  that  he  was  sure  to  be 
returned  as  he  went ;  else,  says  Sutherland,  measures  for 
bringing  him  off  whenever  he  chose  by  the  Vulture's  boats 
could  have  been  easily  concerted  and  accomplished.  It  is 
indeed  a  marvel  that  on  such  an  errand  a  man  should  ven 
ture  into  the  lion's  den,  without  taking  every  precaution  to 
ensure  a  safe  retreat.  Had  the  ship's  boat  followed  Smith's 
at  a  guarded  distance,  remained  under  the  shore  a  few  hun 
dred  yards  off,  and  approached  in  due  season,  no  suspicion 
would  have  been  excited  or  discovery  ensued.  It  was  known 
that  the  tide  would  be  strongly  against  a  return,  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  Smith  did  not  name  the  conspicuous  place  whither 
he  was  now  to  steer  :  a  place  far  below  the  American  lines. 
The  lateness  of  the  night  with  these  other  circumstances  would 
have  almost  compelled  an  astute  officer  to  insist  that  his  own 
boat  should  appear  with  a  sufficient  crew  at  a  concerted 


ANDRfi  LEAVES  THE  VULTURE.  289 

place  and  time.  Happily  for  America  this  was  not  so  ar 
ranged,  and  it  is  far  from  improbable  that  the  chief  actors 
were  too  much  excited  and  confused  to  give  sufficient  heed 
to  the  remoter  emergencies  of  their  undertaking. 

Several  of  the  crew  who  had  dropped  into  the  boat  to  chat 
with  the  Colquhouns  were  now  ordered  out ;  and  taking  the 
helm  Smith  pushed  away.  Little  was  said,  and  that  but  about 
the  tide  and  the  weather,  as  he  conveyed  Andre  to  the  Long 
Clove.  He  indeed  alleges  that  he  had  mentioned  that  he 
was  to  bring  his  companion  to  his  own  house,  and  that  a 
horse  was  provided  at  the  shore  for  this  end ;  but  it  is  prob 
able  Arnold  had  nevertheless  some  notion  of  settling  all  the 
business  at  the  water-side,  though  he  provided  for  another 
contingency.  When  the  boat  reached  the  strand  Smith  left 
it,  and  picking  his  way  through  the  darkness  found  Arnold 
at  an  appointed  place  higher  up  the  bank  in  the  concealment 
of  the  trees :  "  he  was  hid  among  firs,"  says  Smith  with 
emphasis.  When  told  of  the  result  of  the  mission  and  that 
Robinson's  delegate,  whose  youth  and  gentleness  had  not 
argued  the  possession  of  a  weighty  trust,  was  in  waiting  be 
low,  he  exhibited  great  agitation  and  expressed  a  regret  that 
Robinson  himself  had  not  come  ;  but  bade  the  stranger  to  be 
led  to  him.  This  done,  Smith  was  requested  to  retire  to  the 
boat  and  leave  them  together.  The  wearied  oarsmen  sank 
into  slumber  while  their  landlord,  his  vanity  evidently  chaf 
ing  at  his  exclusion  from  the  conversation,  and  his  body 
trembling  with  ague,  uneasily  awaited  on  the  shingle  the  ter 
mination  of  the  interview.  When  the  night  began  to  wane 
he  at  last  went  back  and  warned  the  conspirators  that  it  was 
time  to  be  moving.  He  indeed  declares  that  both  Arnold 
and  Andre  joined  with  him  in  importuning  the  boatmen  to 
return  once  more  to  the  Vulture  ;  and  that  they  refused  not 
only  because  of  their  fatigue,  but  because  daybreak  would 
overtake  them  on  the  way,  and  arrangements  had  been  made 
to  cannonade  the  vessel  as  soon  as  it  was  light.  "  You  can 
reach  the  ship,  and  be  far  enough,"  said  Andre,  by  Smith's 
19 


290  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

account,  "before  that  can  happen  ;  and  the  same  flag  that 
carried  you  to  the  ship  will  make  you  safe  on  your  return  to 
General  Arnold's  command."  This  indeed  may  have  been 
said  by  or  to  Smith  himself;  but  the  boatmen  testified  that 
they  saw  nothing  of  Arnold  or  of  Andre  after  the  landing : 
that  a  noise  in  the  thicket  was  all  they  heard  ;  and  that 
Smith's  persuasions  for  them  to  go  back  were  very  languid. 
It  is  clear  that  the  arrangements  were  not  yet  finished, 
or  else  that  Smith  was  ignorant  of  the  momentous  nature  of 
the  affair  he  was  now  involved  in.  His  influence  might  un 
doubtedly  have  compelled  the  men  to  return  ;  and  had  he 
fully  perceived  the  importance  of  so  doing,  he  surely  would 
have  exercised  it.  Even  were  the  trip  concluded  in  daylight, 
it  would  have  been  safer  for  him,  had  he  known  all,  to  have 
had  the  men  detained  with  the  boat  on  the  Vulture  till  a 
week  had  elapsed  and  the  plot  fulfilled.  Perhaps  he  was  a 
little  sullen  at  the  cavalier  treatment  he  had  received,  and 
indifferent  to  Andre's  concern  for  retreat.  But  Mr.  Sparks 
is  of  opinion  that  the  true  reason  for  Andre's  not  going  back 
this  night  was  the  unfinished  condition  of  the  business.  I 
take  it,  however,  that  it  was  just  one  of  those  cases  in  which 
men  are  governed  by  the  circumstances  of  the  moment :  that 
were  the  Colquhouns  willing  Andre  had  been  sent  back ;  but 
as  they  were  not  so,  and  as  there  were  motives  for  prolong 
ing  the  interview,  Arnold  did  not  press  them.  For  though 
he  might  have  here  given  Andre  the  papers  afterwards  found 
upon  him,  and  the  principal  details  of  the  manoeuvres  to 
be  executed  by  Clinton,  it  was  impossible  in  the  darkness 
to  thoroughly  explain  the  details.  He  had  brought  from 
head-quarters  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  the  large  official 
plans  of  the  general  works  at  West  Point  and  of  each  par 
ticular  work,  that  were  prepared  by  the  engineer  Duportail. 
It  was  hardly  possible,  even  with  a  dark  lantern,  to  examine 
these  in  the  place  where  he  was.  He  might  have  had  them 
with  him  to  give  to  Andre  if  he  returned  to  the  Vulture: 
more  probably  they  were  left  at  Smith's  house  to  be  ex- 


INTERVIEW  WITH  ARXOLD  AXD  ITS   RESULTS.      291 

hibited  and  explained  at  greater  leisure.  As  matters  now 
stood,  therefore,  Smith  and  his  men  took  the  boat  back 
towards  their  starting-place,  while  the  horse  his  negro  ser 
vant  had  ridden  was  mounted  by  Andre,  who  in  company 
with  Arnold  hastened  to  the  house,  three  or  four  miles 
distant. 

As  they  passed  from  the  woods  by  the  water  into  the  main 
road,  the  sky  was  still  dark  with  that  peculiar  gloom  which 
precedes  the  dawn.  Midway  on  their  path  lay  the  little 
hamlet  of  Haverstraw.  It  must  be  remembered  that,  as  we 
have  every  reason  to  believe,  it  was  Andre's  wish  and  stipu 
lation  that  he  should  not  be  taken  within  apy  of  our  posts. 
Now,  as  he  entered  Haverstraw,  the  hoarse  challenge  of  the 
sentry  was  the  first  intimation  he  had  that  his  design  was  to 
this  extent  thwarted.  Mr.  Cooper  (by  what  authority  unless 
La  Fayette's  I  know  not)  says  Andre  confessed  afterwards 
that  on  this  interruption  he  thought  himself  lost.  La  Fayette 
forty  years  later  seems  to  have  stated  as  an  opinion  current 
in  the  army  at  the  time,  that  Arnold  had  posted  guards  here 
where  none  for  some  time  were  before,  to  give-  color  to  the 
declaration,  should  he  be  detected,  that  his  only  motive  was 
to  decoy  and  secure  an  enemy ;  and  Hamilton  refers  to  the 
existence  of  the  same  notion.  This  theory,  if  carried  beyond 
a  very  narrow  bound,  is  confuted  by  the  other  facts  of  the 
case.  Marbois  remarks  also  on  Andre's  displeasure  at  this 
encounter :  but  it  was  now  too  late  to  complain.  Smothering 
his  resentment  he  followed  Arnold  to  Smith's  house,  where 
they  arrived  in  the  gray  of  the  morning  of  the  22nd.  Some 
little  space  after,  the  owner  of  the  mansion  appeared. 

The  unusual  occurrence  of  an  enemy's  ship  lingering  so 
long  in  their  neighborhood  had  roused  the  fears  and  the  anger 
of  the  inhabitants  and  the  troops  at  Verplanck's.  Her  posi 
tion  was  accurately  reported  to  the  commander.  She  was 
moored  under  Teller's  Point,  a  large  tongue  of  land  which 
projects  from  the  eastern  shore  into  the  Hudson  on  the  north 
side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Croton  River ;  and  so  near  to  the 


292  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

bank  that  she  touched  bottom  at  low  water.    Livingston  there- 

O 

fore  had  applied  to  Arnold  for  two  heavy  guns,  with  which  he 
was  confident  he  could  sink  her  ;  but  the  request  was  eva 
sively  denied.  He  then  on  his  own  responsibility  carried  a 
four-pounder  to  a  lesser  promontory  of  Teller's,  known  as 
Gallows  Point ;  and  at  daylight  of  the  22nd,  taking  advan 
tage  of  the  moment  of  low  tide,  commenced  such  an  inces 
sant  discharge  on  the  vessel  that  for  a  time  she  "  appeared  to 
be  set  on  fire  " ;  and  had  she  not  floated  off  with  the  flood 
and  dropped  down  beyond  range,  she  probably  would  have 
been  taken.  Attracted  by  the  noise,  Andre  repaired  to  a 
window  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  Vulture,  and  gazed 
painfully  at  her  as  she  passed  down  the  stream.  He  did  not 
attempt  to  hide  from  his  companions  his  annoyance  at  her 
change  of  place  :  but  breakfast  being  served,  the  three  sat 
down  together  with  a  show  of  tranquillity.  The  conversation 
turned  on  Arbuthnot  and  the  fleet ;  the  royal  army  and  its 
condition  ;  nothing  of  a  particular  nature  was  said  on  any 
side.  After  breakfast,  Arnold  and  Andre  retired  to  an  upper 
chamber  where,  secure  from  interruption,  they  were  closeted 
for  hours  arranging  the  details  of  their  affair. 

Without  a  certain  knowledge  of  what  transpired,  we  are 
still  enabled  to  follow  with  comparative  confidence  the  line 
of  engagements  entered  into.  On  the  one  hand,  Arnold  was 
perfectly  aware  of  the  value  of  what  he  was  to  give  up,  and 
expected  to  be  paid  handsomely.  Clinton  was  as  willing  to 
buy  as  he  to  sell :  he  was,  in  his  own  words,  ready  to  con 
clude  the  bargain  "  at  every  risk  and  at  any  cost."  Long 
time  had  circumstances  separated  these  currents  "  which 
mounting,  viewed  each  other  from  afar  and  strove  in  vain 
to  meet " ;  arid  now  when  the  parties  were  at  last  in  contact, 
it  is  impossible  that  the  terms  of  union  were  not  agreed  on. 
Marbois  says  Arnold's  success  was  to  have  been  rewarded 
with  £30,000  and  the  preservation  of  his  rank ;  and  that  in 
his  excess  of  caution  he  even  wished  the  money  put  within 
his  control  in  advance. 


INTERVIEW  WITH  ARXOLD  AXD  ITS  RESULTS.      293 

The  plan  of  attack  and  defence  was  also  settled.  With  an 
eye  to  this  contingency  Arnold  had  more  than  once  declared 
his  intention  in  case  of  assault  to  receive  the  enemy  in  the 
defiles  that  led  to  the  works,  and  repulse  them  ere  they  ap 
proached  the  walls.  Dearborn,  Livingston,  and  his  other 
subordinates  who  had  heard  not  with  perfect  conviction  this 
resolution,  would  thus  be  prepared  to  obey  on  occasion  with 
out  suspicion.  Washington  seems  to  have  been  imbued  with 
his  ideas  :  at  all  events,  he  directed  him  in  case  of  serious 
demonstration  to  abandon  the  posts  at  King's  Ferry  and  con 
centrate  everything  at  West  Point.  Nothing  could  have 
suited  him  better :  for  Verplanck's  at  least  was  designed 
and  adapted  to  detain  for  some  days  a  foe's  progress  up  the 
stream.  And  with  a  general  of  Arnold's  character,  such 
a  line  of  defence  had  its  apparent  advantages ;  the  more, 
since  his  people  could  always  fall  back  into  the  works.  But 
that  these  should  be  as  little  useful  as  possible,  he  had,  by 
dismounting  the  heaviest  guns,  throwing  down  parts  of  the 
masonry,  &c.,  in  various  ways  and  under  the  fairest  pretences 
of  adding  to  its  strength,  put  the  fortress  into  such  a  state  as 
even  with  a  faithful  commander  it  might  have  been  insecure. 
A  breach  was  made  in  the  walls  of  Fort  Putnam  through 
which  a  section  could  march  abreast ;  and  nothing  but  a  few 
loose  boards  closed  the  aperture.  No  covering  was  provided 
for  the  troops  in  the  redoubts.  A  place  of  debarcation,  known 
as  Kosciusko's  -Landing,  was  left  entirely  unprotected  by  any 
of  our  works  ;  and  so  defective  were  the  police  arrangements 
that  it  was  by  no  means  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  enter  the  post 
itself,  or  an  enemy's  boat  to  pass  undetected  up  the  river.* 

Matters  being  thus  prepared,  it  was  settled  that  Andre 
was  to  return  directly  to  New  York,  and  forthwith  come 
again  with  Clinton  and  Rodney,  who  should  advance  against 

*  3fS.  —  St.  Clair  to  Greene ;  Oct.  Sth,  1780.  Returns  of  the  same  date 
preserved  in  the  Heath  MSS.  show  125  pieces  of  ordnance  of  all  calibres  in 
the  works  at  that  period,  together  with  1817  muskets  and  numerous  other 
military  stores.  The  largest  guns  were  twenty-four  pounders. 


294  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

West  Point  by  land  and  water.  The  route,  the  place  of 
debarcation,  all  was  agreed  upon  :  and  while  our  men  should 
be  detached  in  various  bodies  to  remote  and  separated  gorges, 
the  English  through  the  unguarded  passes  were  to  fall  on 
them  in  front  and  in  rear,  and  so  dispose  of  their  bands  as 
to  encompass  and  capture  in  detail  our  betrayed  soldiery. 
Hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  rugged  acclivities  or  superior 
forces,  there  would  be  no  alternative  but  to  yield  or  be  mowed 
down.  The  very  guns  and  other  signals  to  announce  Clin 
ton's  progress  were  prescribed.  That  no  misunderstanding 
should  occur,  the  large  and  elaborate  official  plans  of  the 
forts  and  the  surrounding  country  were  spread  before  the 
negotiators ;  and  there  were  plenty  of  men  in  the  royal  camp 
who  were  competent  guides  to  every  mountain  path  and  de 
file.  Indeed  Clinton  himself  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
ground  as  far  as  King's  Ferry,  and,  as  we  are  told,  had 
visited,.  West  Point  itself  in  1777,  ere  yet  the  works  were 
erected.  That  Rodney's  flotilla  might  meet  with  no  diffi 
culty,  Arnold  had  taken  a  most  secure  precaution.  A  mighty 
chain,  each  link  of  which  weighed  240  pounds,  was  carried 
by  anchors  and  huge  buoys  across  the  stream  to  obstruct  the 
passage  of  a  hostile  fleet ;  and  water-batteries  were  so  placed 
as  to  crush  any  attempts  to  destroy  or  remove  it.  Under 
pretence  of  necessary  repairs,  he  had  a  link  withdrawn,  which 
was  not  to  be  replaced  for  some  days  :  and  meantime  a  slight 
knot,  that  would  yield  to  almost  any  concussion,  was  the  only 
bond  that  held  the  boom  together  and  preserved  the  false 
semblance  of  a  real  impediment.  Marbois  tells  us  that  when 
Clinton  should  be  within  three  miles  of  the  place,  two  of  his 
officers  in  American  uniforms  were  to  come  at  full  gallop  to 
Arnold's  quarters,  receive  his  final  words,  and  hasten  back  to 
Rodney.  Then  the  Americans  remaining  in  the  works  were 
to  be  stationed  in  positions  that  should  not  be  attacked ;  for 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  West  Point  was  so  constructed 
that  the  possession  of  its  superior  fortresses  gave  command 
of  all  the  others.  He  also  alleges  that  the  25th  or  26th  Sep- 


INTERVIEW  WITH  ARNOLD  AND  ITS  RESULTS.      295 

tember  was  assigned  for  the  consummation  of  the  conspiracy  ; 
and  seems  to  connect  this  with  a  proposal  urged  by  Andre 
but  resisted  by  Arnold  for  the  seizure  of  Washington  and  his 
suite,  who  would  then  be  on  return  from  Hartford.  Wash 
ington  and  Hamilton  however  concur  in  thinking  this  scheme 
was  not  planned.  A  British  subaltern  gives  the  version  of 
the  notions  entertained  at  the  time  in  the  best  unofficial  cir 
cles  of  the  king's  army  :  —  ."  The  plan,  had  not  Major  Andre 
been  discovered,  was  that  Sir  Hy.  Clinton  on  a  certain  day 
agreed  upon  between  him  and  Genl.  Arnold  was  to  lay  siege 
to  Ft.  Defiance.  Genl.  Arnold  was  immediately  to  send  to 
Washington  for  a  reinforcement,  and  before  that  could  arrive 
to  surrender  the  place.  Sir  Henry  was  then  to  make  a  dis 
position  to  surprise  the  reinforcement,  which  probably  would 
have  been  commanded  by  Genl.  Washington  in  person.  Had 
this  succeeded,  it  must  have  put  an  end  to  the  war."  *'  How 
ever  this  be  it  is  very  certain,  as  Heath  remarks,  that  Andre's 
capture  was  in  a  very  critical  moment  and  prevented  the 
most  serious  consequences  to  our  cause. 

We  now  come  to  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  the  whole 
transaction ;  the  committal  by  Arnold,  who  had  hitherto  been 
so  very  wary,  of  those  papers  to  Andre  which,  discovered, 
blasted  the  entire  affair.  These  were  not  of  a  nature  to  be 
of  absolute  service  to  Clinton.  They  were  not  plans  of  the 
country  or  of  the  forts.  They  contained  nothing  that  might 
not  have  been  carried  in  their  bearer's  memory.  A  sylla 
bus  of  their  most  important  contents  might  have  been  con 
veyed  in  a  memorandum  of  two  lines  innocent  in  purport  or 
unintelligible  to  any  but  its  maker.  But  they  were  docu 
ments  that  could  not  have  come  from  any  hand  but  Arnold's 
own,  and  their  possession  would  enable  Clinton  to  compel  a 
fulfilment  of  his  engagements.  My  theory  therefore  is  that 
they  were  either  tendered  by  Arnold  or  exacted  by  Andre 
as  a  pledge  of  fidelity.  Perhaps  Andre  was  already  distrust 
ful  by  reason  of  his  inveiglement  into  our  lines  ;  perhaps  he 
*  Mathew  MS. 


296  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AKDRF.. 

dreaded  in  the  hour  of  performance  a  betrayal  of  the  plot 
such  as  was  witnessed  at  Seaton-Niddrie  in  the  Douglass 
Wars ;  but  evidently  the  papers  he  now  took  in  hand  against 
his  general's  orders  were  not  necessary  for  his  general's  in 
struction.  They  were  six  in  number. 

(1.)  An  Estimate  of  the  forces  at  West  Point  and  its  de 
pendencies,  Sept.  13th,  1780:  showing  a  total  of  3086  men 
of  all  sorts. 

(2.)  An  Estimate  of  the  number  of  men  necessary  to  man 
the  works  at  West  Point  and  its  vicinity,  showing  a  total,  ex 
clusive  of  the  artillery  corps,  of  2438  troops. 

(3.)  Artillery  Orders  issued  by  Major  Bauman,  Sept.  5th, 
1780,  showing  the  disposition  of  that  corps  in  an  alarm. 

(4.)  Major  Bauman's  return  of  the  Ordnance  in  the  dif 
ferent  forts,  batteries,  &c.  at  West  Point  and  its  dependencies, 
Sept.  5,  1780 :  showing  the  distribution  of  100  pieces. 

(5.)  Copy  of  a  statement  of  the  condition  of  affairs  sub 
mitted  by  Washington  to  a  Council  of  War,  Sept.  6th,  1780. 

(6.)  "  Remarks  on  Works  at  Wt.  Point,  a  Copy  to  be  trans 
mitted  to  his  Excell'y  General  Washington,  Sep'r  1780. 

Fort  Arnold  is  built  of  Dry  Fascines  and  Wood,  is  in  a 
ruinous  condition,  incompleat,  and  subject  to  take  Fire  from 
Shells  or  Carcasses. 

Fort  Putnam,  Stone,  Wanting  great  repairs,  the  wall  on  the 
East  side  broke  down,  and  rebuilding  From  the  Foundation  ; 
at  the  West  and  South  side  have  been  a  Chevaux-de-Frise, 
on  the  West  side  broke  in  many  Places.  The  East  side 
open ;  two  Bomb  Proofs  and  Provision  Magazine  in  the 
Fort,  and  Slight  Wooden  Barrack.  —  A  commanding  piece 
of  ground  500  yards  West,  between  the  Fort  and  No.  4  — 
or  Rocky  Hill. 

Fort  Webb,  built  of  Fascines  and  Wood,  a  slight  Work, 
very  dry,  and  liable  to  be  set  on  fire,  as  the  approaches  are 
very  easy,  without  defenses,  save  a  slight  Abattis. 

Fort  Wyllys,  built  of  stone  5  feet  high,  the  Work  above 


PAPERS   TAKEN  BY  ANDRE.  297 

plank  filled  with  Earth,  the  stone  work  15. feet,  the  Earth  9 
feet  thick.  —  No  Bomb  Proofs,  the  Batteries  without  the  Fort. 

Redoubt  No.  1.  On  the  South  side  wood  9  feet  thick,  the 
Wt.  North  and  East  sides  4  feet  thick,  no  cannon  in  the 
works,  a  slight  and  single  Abattis,  no  ditch  or  Pickett.  Can 
non  on  two  Batteries.  No  Bomb  Proofs. 

Redoubt  No.  2.     The  same  as  No.  1.     No  Bomb  Proofs. 

Redoubt  No.  3,  a  slight  Wood  Work  3  Feet  thick,  very 
Dry,  no  Bomb  Proofs,  a  single  Abattis,  the  work  easily  set 
on  fire  —  no  cannon. 

Redoubt  No.  4,  a  Wooden  work  about  10  feet  high  and 
fore  or  five  feet  thick,  the  West  side  faced  with  a  stone  wall 
8  feet  high  and  four  thick.  No  Bomb  Proof,  two  six-pound 
ers,  a  slight  Abattis,  a  commanding  piece  of  ground  500 
yards  Wt. 

The  North  Redoubt,  on  the  East  side,  built  of  stone  4 
feet  high;  above  the  Stone,  wood  filled  in  with  Earth,  very 
Dry,  no  Ditch,  a  Bomb  Proof,  three  Batteries  without  the 
Fort,  a  poor  Abattis,  a  Rising  piece  of  ground  500  yards  So., 
the  approaches  Under  Cover  to  within  20  yards.  —  The  Work 
easily  fired  with  Faggots  diptd  in  Pitch,  &c. 

South  Redoubt,  much  the  same  as  the  North,  a  Command 
ing  piece  of  ground  500  yards  due  East — 3  Batteries  with 
out  the  Fort." 

These  were  all  in  Arnold's  writing  save  the  fourth,  and 
the  sixth  alone  was  of  sufficient  moment  to  warrant  more 
than  the  briefest  syllabus  of  its  contents ;  and  even  this  last, 
one  would  think,  might  have  been  digested  into  a  compact 
note,  incomprehensible  without  a  clue.  To  his  having  the 
originals,  however,  Andre  owed  his  detection.  But  when  he 
took  them,  it  would  seem  he  had  expected  to  return  by  water 
as  he  came ;  and  to  Arnold's  warning  to  destroy  them  should 
accident  befall  the  bearer  he  replied  that  such  "of  course 
would  be  the  case,  as  when  he  went  into  the  boat  he  should 
have  them  tied  about  with  a  string  and  a  stone."  Meantime 


298  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

Arnold  made  Andre  take  off  his  boots,  and  conceal  three  of 
the  documents  between  each  stocking  and  the  sole  of  his  foot. 
It  is  not  likely  these  dangerous  testimonials  would  have 
been  received  had  their  bearer  not  still  believed  himself  des 
tined  to  go  to  the  Vulture,  which  was  now  returned  to  the 
vicinity  of  her  former  position.  Before  ten  A.  M.  of  the 
22nd,  Arnold  took  his  farewell  and  set  off  in  his  barge  for 
head-quarters.  "  Before  we  parted,"  says  Andre,  "  some 
mention  had  been  made  of  my  crossing  the  river  and  go 
ing  another  route ;  but  I  objected  much  against  it,  and 
thought  it^-was  settled  that  in  the  way  I  came  I  was  to  re 
turn."  /'But  that  it  was  not  definitely  so  arranged  appears 
from  Arnold's  injunction  that  if  he  went  by  land  he  should 
exchange  his  uniform  coat  for  another  to  be  supplied  by 
Smith.  To  this,  though  pressed  peremptorily,  Andre  yielded 
a  reluctant  consent.  "  I  was  induced  to  put  on  this  wretched 
coat !  "  said  he  afterwards,  touching  the  sleeve  of  his  disguise. 
The  following  safe-conducts  were  also  calculated  for  either 
passage :  — 

Head  Quarters,  Robinson's  House,  Sep'r  22d,  1780. — 
Joshua  Smith  has  permission  to  pass  with  a  boat  and  three 
hands  and  a  flag  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  on  public  business,  and  to 
return  immediately.  B.  ARNOLD,  M.  Gen. 

Head  Quarters,  Robinson's  House,  Sep'r  22d,  1780. — 
Joshua  Smith  has  permission  to  pass  the  guards  to  the  White 
Plains,  and  to  return  ;  he  being  on  public  business  by  my  di 
rection.  B.  ARNOLD,  M.  Gen. 

Head  Quarters,  Robinson's  House,  Sep'r  22d,  1780.— 
Permit  Mr.  John  Anderson  to  pass  the  guards  to  the  "White 
Plains,  or  below,  if  he  clmses.  He  being  on  Public  Busi 
ness  by  my  Direction.  B.  ARNOLD,  M.  Gen. 

"When  Arnold  was  gone,  Andre  passed  the  anxious  day  in 
waiting  for  Smith  to  take  him  off.  His  host's  whole  account 
of  the  affair  is  so  shuffling  and  evasive,  and  so  contradicted 


PLAXS  FOR  RETURN.  299 

by  the  evidence  of  his  own  Trial,  that  we  are  compelled  to 
suppose  him  from  first  to  last  conscious  of  unlawful  designs 
on  Arnold's  part.  Neither  to  his  American  judges  nor  to 
the  English  public  did  he  tell  the  whole  truth.  There  were 
apparently  things  in  his  conduct  that  he  dared  not  afterwards 
avow.  He  is  said,  however,  to  have  consumed  part  of  the 
day  in  a  fruitless  effort  to  get  possession  of  an  American  uni 
form  belonging  to  Lieut.  John  Webb,  that  was  left  at  Mrs. 
Beekman's  house  on  the  Croton.  The  lady  suspected  his 
want  of  authority  to  receive  it  and  would  not  deliver  it  up  to 
him.  As  Webb  and  Andre  were  much  of  the  same  size,  the 
former's  uniform  would  have  been  of  much  service  in  the 
disguised  progress  through  our  lines ;  but  of  course  nothing 
of  this  sort  was  suspected  at  the  time.  Nevertheless  there 
appears  in  Smith's  Narrative  an  occasional  touch  of  nature 
that  carries  conviction  with  it.  He  unsuccessfully  sought  to 
worm  the  secret  of  his  guest's  business,  whom  nothing  inter 
ested  but  the  prospect  of  departure  and  the  difficulty  of  re 
joining  the  vessel  on  which  he  wistfully  gazed.  "  Never  can 
my  memory  cease  to  record  the  impassioned  language  of  his 
countenance,  and  the  energy  with  which  he  expressed  his 
wish  to  be  on  board  the  Vulture,  when  viewing  that  ship 
from  an  upper  window  of  my  house.'* 

Smith  had  three  courses  to  pursue.  If  he  was  a  sincere 
whig,  and  distrusted  Arnold,  he  should  have  sought  counsel 
of  some  of  the  neighboring  officers.  If  he  was  willing  to  go 
through  with  his  undertaking,  he  should  have  started  at  once 
by  land  with  Andre ;  or  he  should  have  prepared  to  carry 
him  by  water  in  the  coming  night.  He  did  neither.  He 
made  no  attempt  to  again  engage  the  boatmen,  nor  did  he  set 
off  by  the  land  route  till  the  day  was  spent.  It  must  be 
stated  that  he  made  no  secret  to  all  whom  he  met  of  his  con 
nection  with  Mr.  Anderson,  a  person  employed  by  Arnold  to 
get  intelligence  from  New  York :  but  at  the  same  time  he 
omitted  no  opportunity  of  producing  an  impression  that  their 
course  was  to  be  up  the  river  to  head-quarters,  rather  than 


300  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

down  towards  the  city.  As  for  the  tale  that  he  was  imposed 
on  by  Arnold  to  believe  that  his  guest  was  a  young  trades 
man  from  New  York  who  in  vanity  had  borrowed  a  British 
uniform,  it  is  effectually  contradicted  by  his  half-admission 
that  he  saw  him  in  the  coat  upon  the  Vulture,  and  the  fact 
that  Robinson  and  Sutherland  were  in  his  company  when  he 
left  the  vessel  in  this  very  gear.  But  about  the  ague,  that 
rendered  a  night  on  the  water  injurious  to  his  comfort  and 
health,  there  is  less  room  for  cavil ;  and  though  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  might,  had  he  strongly  wished  it,  have  found 
means  to  convey  Andre  on  board,  he  had  at  least  a  fair  show 
of  reasoning  for  preferring  to  escort  him  by  the  shore. 

Mounted  on  a  horse  furnished  by  Arnold  and  accompanied 
by  Smith  and  his  negro,  Andre  at  length  started  for  New 
York.  Had  he  been  possessed  of  more  knowledge  of  the 
habits  and  customs  of  all  classes  in  this  country,  or  had 
greater  confidence  existed  between  his  host  and  himself, 
there  were  a  thousand  chances  to  one  that  the  black  fellow 
could  have  served  his  turn  better  than  any  man  that  had 
been  thought  of.  Every  one  knows  how  apt  at  clandestine 
practices  is  the  black  domestic  servant  of  America.  If  a 
negro  would  go  to  a  nocturnal  frolic  twenty  miles  from  his 
master's  home,  the  choicest  steed  in  the  stable  will  be  found 
dripping  in  his  stall  on  the  ensuing  morning,  nor  can  any  one 
discover  the  cause.  If  a  piece  of  household  gossip  that  oc 
curs  at  bedtime  is  known  ere  daybreak  to  half  the  kitchens 
in  the  community,  the  informant  is  surely  a  negro.  To  an 
obstinate  perverseness  which  often  rises  into  almost  chivalric 
fidelity  of  disposition  is  united  in  the  negro's  character  a  cer 
tain  spice  of  his  savage  origin  that  not  only  tells  him  bread 
eaten  in  secret  is  sweet  and  stolen  waters  pleasant;  but 
which  leads  him  in  a  manner  to  outwit  the  cunning  of  nature. 
The  shortest  and  surest  path  through  a  swamp  ;  the  most 
secluded  nook  or  narrowest  channel  among  a  thousand  islets 
of  the  coast  is  sure  to  be  known  to  the  wanderer  in  dark 
ness  as  well  as  his  own  fireside.  Had  Andre  and  Smith  at 


PLANS  FOR  RETURN.  301 

this  moment  interested  their  attendant  with  a  dram,  a  prom 
ise  of  a  half-joe,  and  an  injunction  of  perfect  secrecy,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  next  daybreak  would  have  found  the  Eng 
lishman  on  the  deck  of  the  Vulture.  If  the  servant  himself 
was  not  competent  to  the  undertaking,  he  had  beyond  ques 
tion  scores  of  friends  who  were ;  and  a  canoe  or  skiff  with 
an  experienced  navigator  would  have  brought  Andre  to  the 
ship's  side  ere  the  sentry  heard  the  dip  of  the  paddle. 

It  was  upon  a  Friday  afternoon  that  this  expedition  was 
begun  ;  and  if  any  ill-omen  was  to  be  drawn  from  the  day, 
Andre  perhaps,  like  the  gentle  cavalier  of  old,  might  pro 
fess  his  confidence  in  the  power  that  made  the  sun  to  rise 
rather  than  in  the  day's  name  that  it  rose  on.  Or  if  he  took 
any  heed  of  omens  in  the  satisfaction  at  being  released  from 
his  condition  of  inert  and  perilous  suspense,  the  glorious 
words  of  Homer  should  have  dispelled  every  painful 
thought :  —  the  best  omen  of  all  is  to  strike  for  your  coun 
try. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Andre's  Journey.  —  Westchester  County.  —  Skinners   and   Cow-boys.  — 
Andre's  Capture.  —  Various  Accounts  of  its  Circumstances. 

THE  evening  twilight  was  setting  in  when  the  travellers 
crossed  the  Hudson  at  King's  Ferry,  about  two  miles  north 
west  of  Smith's  house.  To  his  acquaintance  on  the  road  and 
to  the  officers  of  Verplanck's,  Smith  professed  his  destination 
to  be  Robinson's  house  ;  but  while  he  paused  to  chat  and 
drink,  his  companion  eschewed  all  conversation  or  delay 
and  passed  slowly  on.  Andre's  dress  at  this  moment  was  a 
purple  or  crimson  coat  with  vellum-bound  button-holes  and 
garnished  with  threadbare  gold-lace,  which,  with  a  tarnished 
beaver  hat,  he  had  obtained  from  his  guide.  The  remainder 
of  his  apparel  was  his  military  undress ;  nankin  small 
clothes  and  handsome  white-topped  boots.  Over  all  was  his 
well-worn  watch-coat  with  its  heavy  cape,  buttoned  closely 
about  his  neck.  From  Verplanck's  the  road,  with  its  ancient 
guide-post,  Dishe  Ms  di  Roode  toe  de  KsJtiuy's  Farry,  led 
northwesterly  for  fourteen  miles  towards  Salem  ;  intersected 
however  at  three  miles  distance  by  the  direct  highway  from 
Peekskill  through  Tarrytown  to  New  York,  that  follows  the 
river  and  crosses  the  neck  of  Teller's  Point.  This  would 
perhaps  have  been  the  best  course  for  Andre  to  have  pur 
sued,  had  not  Smith's  false  answers  made  it  dangerous  to 
have  turned  so  soon  down  the  river  instead  of  up.  By  it  the 
distance  from  Verplanck's  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  where  were 
probably  at  this  moment  British  gun-boats,  was  but  about 
twenty-two  miles ;  and  to  Tarrytown  but  about  nineteen. 
Five  and  a  half  miles  from  Verplanck's  another  road  from 
Peekskill  intersects  that  to  Salein,  and  bending  away  through 


;U'liip»r*f  East  ale  ofttXortli  RRW  " 


I  } 


ANDRE'S  JOURNEY.  303 

the  interior  crosses  the  Croton  at  Pine's  Bridge  and  makes 
the  distance  by  it  to  Tarrytown,  as  Andre  eventually  trav 
elled,  fully  twenty-five  miles.  By  cross-roads  either  route 
was  about  equally  direct  to  "White  Plains. 

Just  before  dark  Smith  overtook  his  companion  and  the 
servant,  and  the  party  now  hastened  onwards.  Every  at 
tempt  to  bring  Andre  into  conversation  about  the  affairs  of 
1779  at  Stony  Point  and  the  vicinity  was  fruitless.  He  was 
reluctant  to  talk,  and  anxious  only  to  get  on.  Between  eight 
and  nine  P.  M.  they  stumbled  across  an  American  patrol 
under  Captain  Boyd,  who  compelled  them  to  exhibit  their 
pass  and  declare  their  errand.  Smith  had  no  hesitation  in 
uttering  his  tale  that  they  were  on  their  way  to  get  intel 
ligence  for  Arnold ;  and  Boyd,  who  seems  to  have  been  of  a 
very  inquisitive  yet  communicative  disposition,  overwhelmed 
him  with  questions  and  with  advice.  He  was  positive  that 
their  best  route  was  by  North  Castle ;  the  Tarrytown  Road 
was  infested  with  Cow-boys  ;  and  there  was  no  propriety  in 
their  proceeding  further  that  night.  Andre  was  not  a  little 
disconcerted  at  all  this,  and  privately  urged  Smith  to  push 
forward  in  despite  of  Boyd's  advice  ;  but  his  guide  was  fear 
ful  of  exciting  displeasure  or  suspicion  and  insisted  on  going 
no  further.  But  instead  of  the  house  recommended  to  them 
for  a  lodging,  he  sought  some  miles  back  the  dwelling  of  a 
loyal  Scot  who  did  not  scruple  to  avow,  much  to  Andre's 
contentment,  his  longings  for  the  restoration  of  the  king's 
authority.  Here  they  procured  admittance  ;  but  such  was 
the  distrust  of  the  times  that  the  farmer  would  not  himself 
retire  till  he  had  seen  his  two  guests  ensconced  in  one  bed. 
He  had  been  lately  harried  of  all  his  cattle  :  nevertheless  he 
would  take  no  pay  for  his  humble  accommodations. 

Andre  passed  a  restless  night,  tossing  and  sighing  till  he 
robbed  Smith  of  that  repose  which  he  could  not  himself  en 
joy  ;  and  with  the  first  glimpse  of  dawn  was  up  and  stirring, 
eager  to  get  away.  He  sought  the  negro  and  bade  him  bring 
out  the  horses ;  and  without  waiting  for  breakfast,  the  party 


304  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDES. 

set  forth  betimes.  When  the  horses  appeared,  the  haggard 
countenance  which  betrayed  a  sleepless  couch,  lightened  up 
with  pleasure  ;  and  a  serener  expression  supplanted  its  un 
mistakable  dejection  while  the  journey  lessened  under  their 
feet.  As  the  fear  of  detection  subsided,  his  spirits  rose  pro 
portionally  to  their  late  depression.  He  was  filled  with  the 
sense  of  the  awful  dangers  he  had  fallen  into  ;  of  the  immi 
nent  prospect  of  his  extrication  from  an  unforeseen  whirlpool 
that  had  involved  his  life  and  his  fame ;  and  of  the  prodigious 
results  that  would  ensue  his  deliverance.  Behind  lay  death 
and  shame  ;  before  him,  glory,  happiness,  and  renown.  Un 
able  to  reveal  to  his  companion  the  secret  cause  of  his  swell 
ing  satisfaction,  he  gave  it  vent  through  another  channel,  and 
burst  into  a  flood  of  animated  discourse.  Everything  that 
fell  from  his  lips  partook  of  the  bright  hues  of  his  mind  ;  and 
the  delighted  listener  was  fain  to  note  the  change  from  his 
previous  reticence  and  gloom. 

"  I  now  found  him  highly  entertaining  :  he  was  not  only 
well  informed  in  general  history,  but  well  acquainted  with 
that  of  America,  particularly  New  York,  which  he  termed 
the  residuary  legatee  of  the  British  government,  (for  it  took 
all  the  remaining  lands  not  granted  to  the  proprietary  and 
chartered  provinces).  He  had  consulted  the  Muses  as  well 
as  Mars,  for  he  conversed  freely  on  the  belles-lettres :  music, 
painting,  and  poetry,  seemed  to  be  his  delight.  He  displayed 
a  judicious  taste  in  the  choice  of  the  authors  he  had  read, 
professed  great  elegance  of  sentiment,  and  a  most  pleasing 
manner  of  conveying  his  ideas,  by  adopting  the  flowery  col 
ouring  of  poetical  imagery.  He  lamented  the  causes  which 
gave  birth  to  and  continued  the  war,  and  said  if  there  was  a 
corresponding  temper  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  with  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  the  British  ministry,  peace  was  an  event 
not  far  distant ;  he  intimated  that  measures  were  then  in 
agitation  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  desirable  object, 
before  France  could  accomplish  her  perfidious  designs.  He 
sincerely  wished  the  fate  of  the  war  could  alone  be  deter- 


ANDRE'S  JOURNEY.  305 

mined  in  the  fair,  open  field  contest,  between  as  many  British 
in  number  as  those  under  the  command  of  Count  Rocham- 
beau  at  Rhode  Island,  whose  effective  force  he  seemed  clearly 
to  understand  ;  he  descanted  on  the  richness  of  the  scenery 
around  us,  and  particularly  admired,  from  every  eminence, 
the  grandeur  of  the  Highland  mountains,  bathing  their  lofty 
summits  in  the  clouds  from  their  seeming  watery  base  at  the 
north  extremity  of  Haverstraw  Bay.  The  pleasantry  of 
converse,  and  the  mildness  of  the  weather,  so  insensibly 
beguiled  the  time,  that  we  at  length  found  ourselves  at  the 
Bridge  before  I  thought  we  had  got  half  the  way ;  and  I  now 
had  reason  to  think  my  fellow-traveller  a  very  different  per 
son  from  the  character  I  had  at  first  formed  of  him."  * 

As  they  approached  Pine's  Bridge,  which  crosses  the  Cro- 
ton  about  twelve  miles  by  their  course  from  Verplanck's,  they 
paused  to  bait  their  horses  and  to  seek  food  at  a  wayside  cot 
tage,  whose  mistress  had  but  the  night  before  been  robbed  by 
the  Skinners  or  Cow-boys  of  all  she  possessed  save  a  little 
meal  and  a  single  cow.f  The  good  woman's  hospitality, 
however,  was  not  measured  by  her  larder.  From  her  milk 
and  her  meal  she  prepared  a  sort  of  humble  porridge  or  sou- 
paun  that  the  travellers,  fasting  since  yesterday's  dinner,  did 
ample  justice  to  without  regard  to  the  contemptuous  sport 
which  one  of  them  had  so  lately  bestowed  on  it  in  The 
Cow-Chase. 

During  breakfast  Smith  informed  his  companion  of  his  in 
tention  to  part.  His  understanding  with  Arnold  was  to  con 
tinue  to  White  Plains :  and  had  he  fulfilled  it,  Andre  would 
have  been  saved.  For  Smith  was  known  by  and  himself 
knew  personally  most  of  the  people  of  this  region  ;  and  had 
he  been  stopped  by  the  captors  there  is  little  question  that  he 


*  Smith's  Narr.  44. 

t  Smith  says  this  was  at  the  residence  of  an  old  Dutch  frau,  two  and  a 
half  miles  before  coming  to  the  bridge.  Bolton  (Westchester  Co.  i.  210) 
says  it  was  at  Mrs.  Underbill's  of  Yorktown,  whose  grandson  still  possesses 
the  house. 

20 


306  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDEF,. 

would  have  carried  the  matter  through  and  without  hesita 
tion.  In  truth,  he  was  probably  afraid  of  compromising  him 
self  by  a  longer  stay  with  one  who  evidently  was  not  what 
he  seemed :  or  he  may  have  dreaded  encountering  the  Cow 
boys  below  Pine's  Bridge ;  for  the  Croton  was  regarded  as 
the  boundary  between  the  English  and  Americans  of  the 
debatable  land,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  day,  the  Neutral 
Ground.  Andre  had  no  means  of  opposing  this  determina 
tion  ;  nor  was  he  perhaps  sorry,  now  that  he  was  almost  out 
of  danger,  to  be  quit  of  his  comrade.  While  Smith  was  pay 
ing  for  the  breakfast,  however,  he  mentioned  his  own  condi 
tion  as  to  funds,  and  borrowed  one-half  of  the  stock  of  paper- 
money  in  his  guide's  wallet.  At  parting,  says  Smith,  he  be 
trayed  some  emotion.  He  charged  himself  with  a  message  to 
his  own  acquaintance  and  Smith's  brother,  the  Chief-justice, 
and  vainly  urged  the  acceptance  of  his  gold  watch,  as  a  keep 
sake,  on  his  guide.  With  mutual  good  wishes  they  separated  ; 
and  Smith  hastened  with  his  servant  up  the  road  ;  dined  at 
head-quarters  with  Arnold,  whom  he  represents  as  satisfied 
with  his  conduct ;  and  supped  on  the  next  evening  at  Fish- 
kill  with  Washington  and  his  suite. 

Westchester  County,  through  which  Andre  now  pursued 
his  solitary  way,  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  contest  signal 
ized  by  its  loyalty.  Throngs  of  its  people  not  only  publicly 
avowed  their  intention  to  stand  by  the  king  and  to  shoot  down 
any  who  came  in  the  name  of  Congress  to  disarm  them,  but 
even  put  a  measurable  restraint  upon  the  whigs  ;  and  re 
torted  in  kind  many  of  those  rude  monitions  of  popular  dis 
pleasure  that  in  other  places  the  tories  were  subjected  to. 
If  a  prominent  whig  found  his  fences  thrown  down,  or 
the  manes  and  tails  of  his  choicest  horses  disfigured  by  the 
clipping-shears,  he  knew  it  was  a  political  enemy  that  had 
done  this.  Much  of  the  soil,  particularly  towards  the  Hud 
son,  was  vested  in  large  proprietors,  —  the  Philipses,  Col- 
dens,  De  Lancys,  and  Van  Cortlandts,  —  and  by  them  culti 
vated  or  leased  out  in  small  farms ;  so  that  in  its  extent  of 


THE   SKINNERS   AXD  COW-BOYS.  307 

thirty  miles,  it  had  presented  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
rural  districts  of  America.  The  course  of  war,  however, 
changed  all  this.  The  majority  of  the  gentry  sided  with 
the  crown,  and  took  refuge  in  New  York.  Their  dependents, 
and  the  agricultural  populace  generally  whatever  their  politi 
cal  views,  lost  heart  in  an  employment  that  rival  armies 
alone  profited  by.  Many  who  leased  or  owned  farms  were 
subjected  to  losses  which  drove  them  to  desperation  ;  and  that 
class  of  the  people  who  had  nothing  to  lose  and  to  whom  honest 
labor  was  often  denied,  seem  to  have  become  thoroughly  im 
bued  with  a  spirit  of  spoil  and  robbery.  Nominally,  such  as 
participated  in  these  habits  were  divided  into  two  orders : 
the  Cow-boys  robbed  and  cried  "  God  save  the  King  " ;  the 
Skinners  stole  for  the  sake  of  Congress.  Of  course  each  side 
pretended  to  confine  its  outrages  to  the  enemies  of  its  own 
political  creed ;  but  in  point  of  fact  it  pillaged  indifferently 
friend  and  foe  who  had  a  cow  or  a  pig  to  be  carried  off,  or  a 
purse  of  gold  to  be  yielded.  These  scoundrelly  partisans 
were  often  personal  acquaintances ;  they  were  more  often  in 
league,  and  playing  into  each  other's  hands.  The  Cow-boys 
were  generally  refugees  who  had  been  expelled  from  their 
homes  and  driven  to  reside  within  the  British  lines.  The 
Skinners,  though  abiding  in  our  bounds  and  professing  attach 
ment  to  our  cause,  were  in  reality,  says  Mr.  Sparks,  "  more 
unprincipled,  perfidious,  and  inhuman  than  the  Cow-boys 
themselves :  for  these  latter  exhibited  some  symptoms  of 
fellow-feeling  for  their  friends,  whereas  the  Skinners  com 
mitted  their  depredations  equally  upon  friend  and  foe."  An 
idea  of  their  comparative  merits  may  be  obtained  from  their 
respective  titles :  the  Cow-boys  were  so  called  from  their  prac 
tice  of  harrying  the  cattle  of  whig  farmers,  and  bringing  them 
into  New  York ;  the  Skinners  got  their  name  by  reason  of 
their  stripping  their  victim  of  every  thing  he  had  in  the  world 
down  to  the  merest  trifle;  not  scrupling,  if  they  thought  money 
was  to  be  extorted  by  the  operation,  to  deprive  his  liesh  of 
its  nearest  and  most  primitive  covering.  In  this  course,  as 


308  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF.. 

Mr.  Sparks  says,  they  had  no  more  hesitation  in  visiting 
a  wealthy  whig  than  a  tory ;  and  so  great  was  the  appetite 
for  villany,  that  no  orders,  nor  even  the  presence  of  a  com 
missioned  officer  could  restrain  them.  If  an  American  for 
aging  party  went  out  from  the  lines,  as  many  volunteers  from 
the  country  side  as  could  join  themselves  to  it  attended  and 
disgraced  its  progress :  and  they  would  return  rich  with 
horses,  cattle,  bed-stuffs,  clothing,  and  whatever  portable 
effects  they  could  bear  away  to  divide  at  their  leisure. 
"  The  militia  volunteers  excelled  in  this  business,"  said 
Aaron  Burr.  A  crowd  of  the  best  whigs  in  the  land 
would  follow  at  their  heels,  hoping,  and  sometimes  obtain 
ing  the  restoration  of  their  property,  but  not  often  the  pun 
ishment  of  their  robbers.  When  the  protection  of  a  regular 
party  was  wanting  to  these  skulking  thieves,  they  would 
maraud  by  night  through  the  country  round,  and  concert 
with  their  kindred  the  Cow-boys  to  take  off  their  hands  the 
plunder  they  could  neither  keep  themselves  nor  sell  within 
American  jurisdiction.  Then  a  meeting  would  occur,  and 
the  cows  and  sheep  of  the  whig  farmer  be  bartered  for  dry 
goods  and  gold  brought  by  the  Cow-boys  from  New  York. 
A  mock  skirmish  closed  the  scene  of  iniquity,  and  with  pock 
ets  well  lined  and  tongues  loud  in  lying  praise  of  their  own 
bravery,  the  Skinners  would  return  laden  with  booty  which 
they  pretended  they  had  captured  from  a  smuggling  party  of 
the  enemy.  Well  might  this  state  of  affairs  be  styled  a  most 
"  formidable  conspiracy  against  the  rights  and  claims  of  hu 
manity  !  " 

To  the  armies  on  either  side,  rather  than  to  any  exertion 
of  the  civil  authorities,  is  due  the  praise  for  any  attempt  to 
suppress  these  banditti.  The  continental  officers  on  the  lines 

*  "The  Militia  and  Cow-boys  are  very  busy  in  driving,  and  it  is  out  of 
my  power  to  prevent  them.  If  I  send  the  troops  down  below  to  prevent 
the  Cow-boys  the  Militia  are  driving  off  in  the  rear,  and  if  I  have  the  troops 
above,  the  lower  party  are  driving  downwards,  and  the  inhabitants  are  left 
destitute  without  any  prospect  of  redress."  —  MS.  Jameson  to  Heath,0ct. 
mh,  1780. 


THE  SKINNERS   AND  COW-BOYS.  309 

were  constantly  instructed  to  prevent  and  repress  them. 
Yet  the  task  was  difficult.  The  whig  legislature  of  New 
York  had  enacted  the  confiscation  of  every  man's  property 
who  refused  the  oath  of  allegiance  :  supplies  of  war  intended 
for  the  enemy  were  also  declared  lawful  prize  ;  and  under 
these  pretences,  the  sturdy  rustic,  who  at  sunset  would  bear 
down  an  inquisitive  officer  with  protestations  of  his  utter 
aversion  to  such  practices,  would  ere  morning  justify  his 
pillage  of  any  neighbor's  cattle-yard  or  sheepfold  as  a  legiti 
mate  spoiling  of  the  Egyptian.  There  is  an  undoubted  rule 
of  war  in  such  cases,  the  seasonable  application  of  which  will 
always  save  many  lives  in  the  end.  Its  principles  were  pub 
lished  and  practised  by  Napoleon  and  maintained  by  Wel 
lington.  When  rival  armies  are  in  the  field,  it  is  lawful  for 
any  inhabitant  to  enlist  under  the  flag  of  his  country.  If 
captured,  he  is  a  prisoner  entitled  to  honorable  treatment. 
But  where  peasantry  refuse  to  enlist,  yet  secretly  resist,  — 
to-day  peacefully  working  in  their  fields,  to-night  assaulting 
a  picket-guard,  —  the  general  of  the  adversary  is  entirely 
justifiable  in  burning  their  habitations  and  hanging  the  men 
to  the  nearest  tree.  The  army  that  can  maintain  its  position 
in  a  hostile  land  has  for  the  time  being  a  right  to  the  open 
opposition  or  the  passive  obedience  of  the  inhabitants  within 
its  range. 

At  this  very  period  we  know  how  Westchester  county, 
once  such  a  scene  of  rural  affluence  and  peace,  appeared  to 
a  foraging  party  that  bore  off  hundreds  of  loads  of  its  hay 
and  grain.  The  land  was  in  ruins.  Most  of  the  farm-hold 
ers  had  fled,  and  such  as  remained  were  not  permitted  to 
reap  where  they  had  sown.  The  fields  were  covered  with 
the  tangled  harvest-growths  that  decayed  ungathered  on 
the  ground,  and  in  the  neglected  orchards  the  fruit  rotted  in 
great  heaps  beneath  the  trees.  The  sturdy  American  who 
describes  the  scene  attributes  all  the  devastation  to  the  ene 
my  :  for  he  considered  Cow-boys  and  Skinners  as  renegades 
alike,  and  all  villanous  tories.  He  recites  the  tortures  they 


310  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

employed  to  extort  from  the  inhabitants  the  revelation  of 
hoards  which  perhaps  did  not  exist.  The  wretch  would  be 
hanged  till  he  became  insensible ;  then  cut  down  and  revived, 
and  again  hanged.  The  case  of  an  aged  Quaker  makes  it 
probable  these  ruffians  were  nominally  wliigs ;  for  the  Quak 
ers  were  generally  loyal.  This  poor  old  man  had  given  up 
all  his  money,  but  more  was  required.  To  be  sure  that  he 
was  secreting  nothing  from  them,  his  captors  first  inflicted 
the  torment  of  scorching :  they  stripped  him  naked,  immersed 
him  in  hot  ashes,  and  roasted  him  as  one  would  a  potato,  till 
the  blistered  skin  rose  from  his  flesh.  Then  he  was  thrice 
hung  and  cut  down ;  nor  did  his  oppressors  leave  him  while 
life  appeared  to  remain.  When  Burr  commanded  the  ad 
vanced  lines  in  this  county,  his  indignation  at  all  he  wit 
nessed  first  inspired  him,  he  says,  with  a  wish  for  arbitrary 
power.  "  I  could  gibbet  half-a-dozen  good  whigs,  with  all 
the  venom  of  an  inveterate  tory." 

Through  such  a  region,  where  none  were  safe  with  aught 
to  lose  and  not  force  to  defend  it,  Andre  was  now  to  go.  Af 
ter  leaving  Pine's  Bridge,  he  was  not  long  in  resolving  to 
abandon  the  route  he  was  on  and,  striking  to  the  right,  to  take 
the  Tarrytown  Road.  It  was  shorter ;  and  if,  as  Boyd  had 
warned  him,  he  might  find  the  Cow-boys  upon  it,  lie  probably 
esteemed  them  less  perilous  opponents  than  the  Skinners.  It 
was  a  bright  pleasant  morning  on  Saturday,  the  23rd  of  Sep 
tember  ;  and  he  looked  forward  to  being  ere  sunset  once  more 
with  his  friends.  Few  incidents  for  a  while  interrupted  his 
solitude.  At  the  house  of  Mr.  Staats  Hammond  he  paused 
to  ask  for  water,  and  the  little  children  who  brought  it  him 
from  the  well  bore  in  mind  their  vision  of  a  mounted  man 
closely  wrapt  in  his  light-blue  swan-skin  cloak,  with  high  mil 
itary  boots  and  round  brimmed  hat,  who  leisurely  walked  his 
bay  horse  to  their  door.  The  incongruous  appearance  of 
such  a  good-looking  steed,  with  its  handsome  double  snaffle 
bridle  and  its  tail  and  mane  filled  Avith  burrs,  was  not  lost 
on  them.  The  lad  held  the  rein  while  the  stranger  drank. 


ANDR£  ox  THE  TARRYTOWX  ROAD.  311 

"  How  far  is  it  to  Tarrytown  ?  "  he  inquired.  Four  miles, 
replied  the  boy.  "  I  did  not  think  it  was  so  far,"  said  Andre, 
and  resumed  his  way.  At  Chappequa,  near  Underhill's  Tav 
ern,  he  again  questioned  some  Quakers  whom  he  met  as  to 
the  road,  and  whether  troops  were  out  below.  At  the  foot 
of  the  Chappequa  roads  he  took  that  leading  to  the  river; 
and  came  into  the  Albany  post-road  near  the  village  of 
Sparta.  As  he  approached  what  is  now  called  the  Andre 
Brook,  he  had  gone  over  nearly  eleven  miles  of  neutral 
ground. 

He  was  now  hard  by  Tarrytown,  and  even  by  his  own 
showing,  had  been  very  lucky  in  his  journey.  "  Nothing," 
he  said  to  one  of  our  officers,  "  occurred  to  disturb  him  in  his 
route  until  he  arrived  at  the  last  place,  excepting  at  Cram 
pon  ;  he  told  me  his  hair  stood  erect,  and  his  heart  was  in 
his  month,  on  meeting  Col.  Samuel  B.  Webb,  of  our  army  — 
an  acquaintance  of  his.  He  said  the  Colonel  stared  at  him, 
and  he  thought  he  was  gone  ;  but  they  kept  moving,  and  soon 
passed  each  other.  He  then  thought  himself  past  all  dan 
ger.  Whilst  ruminating  on  his  good  luck  and  hairbreadth  es 
cape,  he  was  assailed  by  three  bushmen  near  Tarrytown,  who 
ordered  him  to  stand." 

On  the  west  of  the  road  flowed  the  river ;  on  the  east  rose 
the  Greenburgh  Hills,  in  whose  bosom  lies  the  world-renowned 
vale  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  with  its  old  church,  founded  by  the 
Philipse  family,  and  the  ancient  bell  with  its  legend  Si  Deus 
pro  nobis,  quis  contra  nos.  Indeed  on  every  hand  stretched 
far  and  wide  around  him  the  fair  manors  of  his  friends  the 
De  Lancys  and  those  of  the  Philipses  in  which  his  coad 
jutor  Robinson  was  so  largely  interested.  Before  him,  scarce 
half  a  mile  north  of  Tarrytown,  a  rivulet  flowing  from  the 
hills  crossed  the  road  through  a  marshy  ravine  dark  with 
shade,  then  known  as  Wiley's  Swamp ;  and  by  a  south-west 
course  soon  mingled  its  waters  with  that  part  of  the  neighbor 
ing  Hudson  which  bears  the  name  of  the  Tappaan  Zee.  "A 
few  rough  logs,"  says  the  venerable  Knickerbocker,  "  laid 


312  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

side  by  side,  served  for  a  bridge  over  this  stream.  On  that 
side  of  the  road  where  the  brook  entered  the  wood,  a  group 
of  oaks  and  chestnuts,  matted  thick  with  wild  grape-vines, 
threw  a  cavernous  gloom  over  it."  Here,  on  the  south  or 
lower  side  of  the  bridge  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  path, 
were  secreted  among  the  bushes  John  Paulding,  Isaac  Van 
Wart,  and  David  Williams,  whose  presence  on  this  occasion 
saved  America  from  a  mortal  blow.* 

On  the  preceding  day  seven  young  men,  mostly  natives  of 
or  well  acquainted  with  the  neighborhood,  had  agreed  to  way 
lay  the  road  in  quest  of  spoil.  The  ravages  of  war  had  de 
prived  them  of  all  profitable  and  peaceful  employment,  and 
by  their  own  account  they  were  in  hopes  of  wresting  from 
some  of  the  returning  confederates  of  the  Cow-boys,  who  had 
just  forayed  the  country,  a  part  of  their  ill-gotten  gains. 
That  they  should  have  cared  to  encounter  an  armed  force  of 
any  size  is  contradicted  by  the  smallness  and  disposition  of 
their  own  band ;  three  of  whom  kept  the  ambush,  while  four 
watched  from  a  hill-top  lest  the  Light-horse  should  come  on 
them  unawares.  For  as  they  acted  under  no  commission  nor 
were  detached  from  either  the  continental  or  militia  organi 
zations,  it  might  have  fared  badly  with  them  to  have  been 
interrupted  by  the  American  or  the  English  authorities.  It 
has  been  indeed  said  that  the  enterprise  was  permitted  by  the 
commanding  officer  at  Salem ;  yet  Tallmadge,  the  second  offi 
cer  and  the  efficient  spirit  of  the  dragoons,  declared  its  char 
acter  was  such  that  had  he  fallen  upon  it  he  would  have 
arrested  its  members  as  readily  as  Andre  himself.  It  is  for 
tunate  therefore  that  they  escaped  the  notice  of  this  active 
and  well-informed  soldier. 

Through  all  this  part  of  our  narrative,  a  fatal  combination 
of  circumstances  was  working  against  Andre.  Had  he  pur 
sued  any  other  road,  or  had  he  arrived  here  two  hours  earlier, 
he  would  have  escaped  scot-free.  The  party  had  been  but 
little  more  than  an  hour  on  the  ground  when,  between  eight 

*  See  Appendix,  Xo.  II. 


ANDRE'S  CAPTURE.  313 

and  nine  A.  M.,  one  of  them  looking  up  from  the  game  of 
cards  in  which  they  had  engaged,  discovered  his  approach. 
His  boots,  a  valuable  prize  in  those  days,  seem  to  have  at 
once  attracted  the  eyes  of  all.*  "  There  comes  a  trader 
going  to  New  York,"  said  one.  "  There  comes  a  gentle 
man-like  looking  man,"  said  another  to  Paulding,  "  who  ap 
pears  to  be  well  dressed  and  has  boots  on,  whom  you  had 
better  step  out  and  stop,  if  you  don't  know  him."  As  his 
horse's  tramp  clattered  over  the  bridge  they  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and  Pauldiug,  the  master-spirit  of  the  party,  advanced 
with  presented  musket  and  bade  him  stand,  and  announce 
his  destination.  "  My  lads,"  he  replied,  "  I  hope  you  belong 
to  our  party."  They  asked  which  party  he  meant.  "  The 
lower  party,"  he  answered  ;  and  on  their  saying  that  they  did, 
he  seems  to  have  betrayed  an  exultation  that  was  unmistak 
able.  "  Thank  God,  I  am  once  more  among  friends ! "  he 

*  The  want  of  manufactured  domestic  articles  was  severely  felt  by  our 
people  during  the  war ;  and  in  the  hottest  pursuit  of  British  cavalry  an 
American  trooper  has  been  seen  to  peril  his  life  for  just  such  boots  as  An 
dre"  wore :  leaping  from  his  horse  to  strip  a  pair  from  the  corpse  of  a  royal 
officer,  and  escaping  almost  under  the  upraised  swords  of  the  enemy.  AVe 
may  all  remember  the  ludicrous  scene  in  a  book,  the  terror  of  our  child 
hood —  Schinderhannes,  the  Robber  of  the  Rhine  —  where  forty  or  fifty 
Jews,  amid  protestations  of  entire  poverty,  are  made  to  remove  their  boots, 
shoes,  and  stockings,  and  display  the  treasures  they  had  there  concealed ; 
and  how,  each  being  told  to  resume  his  own  articles,  a  furious  fight  was  at 
once  waged  —  first  for  the  boots,  next  for  the  shoes.  The  date  of  this 
scene  is  in  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  large  horseman's 
boots  which  Andre  wore  were  very  different  articles  from  those  which  com 
mon  acceptation  has  received.  I  have  seen  a  sign-board,  commemorating 
the  capture,  that  stood  for  many  years  in  Philadelphia,  and  which  errone 
ously  displayed  a  pair  of  genuine  comedy  top-boots  in  lieu  of  the  originals. 
Three  months  previous  to  Andre's  detection,  a  letter  was  published  which 
purported  to  have  been  written  by  our  Gen.  Maxwell  to  Mr.  C  aid  well,  in 
which  the  writer  explicitly  states  that  till  he  receives  a  pair  of  boots  he 
cannot  appear  in  public.  The  events  of  the  capture  as  given  above  are  de 
scribed  in  three  forms,  according  to  the  version  given  by  the  captors  them 
selves;  by  Andre";  and  by  tradition.  It  is  impossible  to  entirely  reconcile 
all  of  them ;  so  the  reader  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  comparing  them 
together,  and  with  Appendix,  No.  II.,  where  the  captors  themselves  are 
more  particularly  noticed. 


314  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

cried,  as  he  recognized  a  royal  uniform  on  Paulding's  back. 
"  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I  am  a  British  officer  out  of  the 
country,  on  particular  business,  and  I  hope  you  won't  detain 
me  a  minute  ;"  and  in  proof  of  his  assertion  he  exhibited  the 
gold  watch,  which  was  an  article  then  seldom  possessed  by 
the  gentlemen  of  our  service.  On  this  they  told  him  he  was 
their  prisoner ;  that  they  were  Americans,  and  he  must  dis 
mount.  He  laughed,  unconcernedly  producing  Arnold's  pass 
and  remarking,  "My  God,  I  must  do  anything  to  get  along!" 
None  but  Paulding  were  able  to  read  or  write;  and  he 
treated  the  safe-conduct  with  little  respect,  after  the  pre 
vious  avowal.  "  Had  he  pulled  out  General  Arnold's  pass 
first,  I  should  have  let  him  go." 

They  now  led  him  aside  to  a  gigantic  whitewood  or  tulip- 
tree,  twenty-six  feet  in  girth,  that  stood  like  a  landmark  a 
little  southward  of  the  stream. 

"  Its  limbs  were  gnarled  and  fantastic,  large  enough  to 
form  trunks  for  ordinary  trees,  twisting  down  almost  to  the 
earth,  and  rising  again  into  the  air.  It  was  connected  with 
the  tragical  story  of  the  unfortunate  Andre,  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner  hard  by  ;  and  was  universally  known  by  the 
name  of  Major  Andre's  Tree.  The  common  people  regarded 
it  with  a  mixture  of  respect  and  superstition,  partly  out  of 
sympathy  for  the  fate  of  its  illstarred  namesake,  and  partly 
from  the  tale  of  strange  sights  and  doleful  lamentations  told 
concerning  it." 

Under  this  tree,  which  by  a  strange  chance  was  scathed 
with  lightning  on  the  very  day  that  the  news  of  his  execution 
came  to  Tarrytown,  Andre  was  searched.  He  warned  his 
captors  of  Arnold's  displeasure  at  this  proceeding,  and  pro 
tested  he  had  no  letters  ;  but  nothing  would  satisfy  them  but 
an  examination  of  his  person.  "  My  lads,"  said  he,  u  you 
will  bring  yourselves  into  trouble  "  :  —  but  they  vowed  they 
did  not  fear  it,  and  while  by  their  compulsion  he  threw  off 
his  clothing,  piece  by  piece,  Williams  was  deputed  to  the 
examination.  Nothing  appeared,  however,  till  one  boot  was 


AXDR£'S  CAPTURE.  315 

removed ;  then  it  was  evident  that  something  was  concealed 

in  the  stocking.    "  By ,"  cried  Paulding  —  "  here  it  is  !  " 

—  and  seizing  the  foot  while  Williams  withdrew  the  stocking, 
three  folded  half-sheets  of  paper  enclosed  in  a  fourth  indorsed 
West  Point  were  revealed.  The  other  foot  was  found  simi 
larly  furnished.  "  By ,"  repeated  Paulding,  "  he  is  a 

spy!" 

They  questioned  him  as  to  where  he  obtained  these  pa 
pers  ;  but  of  course  his  replies  were  evasive.  They  asked 
him  whether  he  would  engage  to  pay  them  handsomely  if 
they  would  release  him,  and  he  eagerly  assented.  He  would 
surrender  all  he  had  with  him,  and  would  engage  to  pay  a 
hundred  guineas  or  more,  and  any  quantity  of  dry  goods,  if 
he  were  permitted  to  communicate  with  New  York.  Dry 
goods,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  general  term  for  ar 
ticles  peculiarly  precious  to  our  people.  Paulding  peremp 
torily  stopped  this  conversation  ;  swearing  determinedly  that 
not  ten  thousand  guineas  should  release  him.  Williams 
again  asked  him  if  he  would  not  escape,  if  an  opportunity 
offered.  "  Yes,  I  would,"  said  Andre.  "  I  do  not  intend 
that  you  shall,"  was  the  rejoinder ;  whereon  the  prisoner  to 
all  further  interrogatories  prayed  them  to  lead  him  to  an 
American  post,  and  to  question  him  no  more.  They  now  set 
forth  towards  their  comrades  on  the  hill,  Paulding  leading 
the  horse  on  which  the  captive  was  mounted.  As  the  par 
ties  drew  together,  the  guide  informed  Yerks,  the  chief  man 
of  the  remaining  four,  of  their  prize,  making  him  at  the  same 
time  descend  and  produce  his  watch  in  verification  of  his  qual 
ity.  "  He  then  asked  him  for  his  watch,"  says  Yerks,  "  at  the 
same  time  warning  him  not  to  make  any  attempt  at  escape, 
for  if  he  did  he  was  a  dead  man."  Presently  the  course 
was  resumed  across  the  country  to  North  Castle ;  avoid 
ing  roads  and  "  each  taking  their  turns  at  the  bridle,  some 
marching  on  either  side,  the  remainder  bringing  up  the  rear." 
Andre  was  taciturn,  only  speaking  to  answer  questions,  and 
then  but  shortly.  As  they  paused  at  the  house  of  one  of  the 


316  LIFE   OF   MAJOR   AXDR& 

party,  Paulding  went  in  advance  to  its  proprietor  (perhaps 
his  comrade's  father)  and  said  :  —  "  Be  careful  how  you 
talk  ;  I  believe  we  have  got  a  British  officer."  Here  they 
tarried  a  little,  and  one  of  the  women  of  the  family  pressed 
Andre  to  eat.  "  No,  I  thank  you,"  he  answered  in  sadness, 
"I  have  no  appetite  to  take  anything."  Soon  resuming  the 
march  in  such  wise  as  before,  they  at  length  accomplished 
the  twelve  miles  that  brought  them  to  Jameson's  quarters, 
and  delivered  their  prisoner  into  his  hands. 

We  must  now  hear  another  and  less  pleasing  narration  of 
some  of  these  transactions ;  and  particularly,  so  far  as  may 
be,  obtain  Andre's  own  account  of  the  affair.  The  late  Gen 
eral  King,  of  Ridgefield,  Connecticut,  then  a  lieutenant  in 
Sheldon's  dragoons,  who  had  custody  of  him  within  a  few 
hours  of  his  arrival,  relates  the  story  Andre  told,  and  which 
he  himself  implicitly  received  and  always  upheld  as  nothing 
but  the  truth.  It  must  be  premised  that  it  was  not  altogether 
unusual  for  persons  near  the  British  lines  to  kidnap  an  officer 
riding  out  when  none  of  our  troops  were  near  the  city,  and 
detain  him  till  he  promised  to  pay  a  ransom.  This  practice 
was  at  length  in  a  measure  checked  by  the  officers  them 
selves,  who  not  only  paid  the  extorted  gold,  but  caused  the 
recipient  to  be  imprisoned  or  flogged.  King  says,  then,  that 
Andre  in  the  course  of  his  revelations  (which  are  other 
wise  partly  sustained  by  what  we  now  know)  told  how  he 
was  challenged  near  Tarrytown  by  three  bushmen. 

"  He  says  to  them,  I  hope,  gentlemen,  you  belong  to  the 
lower  party.  We  do,  says  one.  So  do  I,  says  he,  and  by 
the  token  of  this  ring  and  key  you  will  let  me  pass.*  I  am 
a  British  officer  on  business  of  importance,  and  must  not  be 
detained.  One  of  them  took  his  watch  from  him,  and 
ordered  him  to  dismount.  The  moment  this  was  done,  he 
said  he.  found  he  was  mistaken,  and  he  must  shift  his  tone. 
He  says,  I  am  happy,  gentlemen,  to  find  I  am  mistaken. 

*  This  is  probably  another  version  of  the  production  of  the  prisoner's 
watch. 


ANDRE'S  CAPTURE.  317 

You  belong  to  the  upper  party,  and  so  do  I.  A  man  must 
make  use  of  any  shift  to  get  along,  and  to  convince  you  of  it, 
here  is  General  Arnold's  pass,  handing  it  to  them,  and  I  am 
in  his  service.  Damn  Arnold's  pass,  says  they.  You  said 
you  was  a  British  officer,  and  no  money,  says  they.  Let's 
search  him.  They  did  so,  but  found  none.  Says  one,  he 
has  got  money  in  his  boots,  let's  have  them  off  and  see. 
They  took  off  his  boots,  and  there  they  found  his  papers,  but 
no  money.  They  then  examined  his  saddle,  but  found  none. 
He  said,  he  saw  they  had  such  a  thirst  for  money,  he  could 
put  them  in  a  way  to  get  it,  if  they  would  be  directed  by 
him.  He  asked  them  for  to  name  their  sum  for  to  deliver 
him  at  King's  Bridge.  They  answered  him  in  this  way. 
If  we  deliver  you  at  King's  Bridge,  we  shall  be  sent  to  the 
Sugar  House,  and  you  will  save  your  money.  He  says  to 
them,  if  you  will  not  trust  my  honor,  two  of  you  may  stay 
with  me.  and  one  shall  go  with  a  letter  which  I  shall  write. 
Name  your  sum.  The  sum  was  agreed  upon,  but  I  cannot 
recollect  whether  it  was  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  guineas 
—  the  latter  I  think  was  the  sum.  They  held  a  consultation 
a  considerable  time,  and  finally  they  told  him,  if  he  wrote,  a 
party  would  be  sent  out  and  take  them,  and  then  they  all 
should  be  prisoners.  They  said  they  had  concluded  to  take 
him  to  the  commanding  officer  on  the  lines." 

That  Andre  actually  made  this  statement,  or  at  least  gave 
in  his  own  language  its  essential  facts,  none  can  doubt,  we 
are  told,  who  knew  King  either  personally  or  by  reputation. 
Circumstantial  evidence  also  testifies  to  the  fact.  Captain 
Samuel  Bowman  of  the  Massachusetts  line  (whose  character 
is  faithfully  represented  in  that  of  his  sons)  records  that  for 
the  twenty-four  hours  preceding  the  execution  he  was  con 
stantly  with  the  prisoner,  and  of  course  the  conversation 
turned  on  the  occasion  of  his  confinement.  His  story  is 
given  here  as  he  told  it. 

"To  this  gentleman  Andre*  himself  related,  that  he  was 
passing  down  a  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which,  under  a  tree  playing 


318  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRfi. 

cards,  were  the  three  men  who  took  him.  They  were  close 
by  the  road  side,  and  he  had  approached  very  near  them  be 
fore  either  party  discovered  the  other :  upon  seeing  him,  they 
instantly  rose  and  seized  their  rifles.  They  approached  him, 
and  demanded  who  he  was  ?  He  immediately  answered  that 
he  was  a  British  officer  ;  supposing,  from  their  being  so  near 
the  British  lines,  that  they  belonged  to  that  party.  They 
then  seized  him,  robbed  him  of  the  few  guineas  which  he  had 
with  him,  and  the  two  watches  which  he  then  wore,  one  of 
gold  and  the  other  of  silver.  He  offered  to  reward  them  if 
they  would  take  him  to  New  York ;  they  hesitated ;  and  in 
his  (Andre's)  opinion,  the  reason  why  they  did  not  do  so 
was  the  impossibility  on  his  part  to  secure  to  them  the  per 
formance  of  the  promise." 

To  all  this  must  be  superadded  the  conviction  of  Tallmadge, 
to  whom  the  character  of  both  captive  and  captors  was  more 
or  less  known,  that  the  same  story,  which  he  also  heard  from 
his  prisoner,  was  true.  He  most  publicly  avowed  his  belief 
that  Andre's  boots  were  taken  off  in  pursuit  of  plunder,  not 
of  the  proofs  of  treason  ;  and  that  had  he  been  in  condition 
to  hand  over  the  price  demanded,  he  would  not  have  been 
detained  or  discovered.  The  sagacity  and  the  probity  of  a 
very  distinguished  soldier  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated  in 
considering  the  authority  this  declaration  of  his  bears  with  it. 

Thus  we  have  before  us  the  story  as  told  respectively  by 
Andre  and  by  the  captors  themselves.  What  tradition  re 
lates  may  be  distrusted  but  not  suppressed.  It  says  that  the 
captors  were  in  wait  for  men  of  their  acquaintance  who  had 
gone  into  New  York  with  cattle  to  sell  to  the  British,  a  share 
of  whose  money  they  hoped  to  win  or  otherwise  get  from  them 
as  they  returned.  They  were  stretched  on  the  ground  play 
ing  cards  when  Andre  was  discovered  advancing  slowly,  and 
studying  his  route  on  a  paper  in  his  hand.  As  he  drew  near, 
apparently  suspecting  the  danger  that  might  lurk  in  such  a 
covert,  he  quickened  his  pace,  thrusting  the  paper  into  the 
boot  of  his  off  leg  —  a  very  convenient  receptacle  for  any 


ANDRE'S  CAPTURE.  319 

light,  loose  article.  One  of  the  three  observed  to  the  others  : 
"  Here  comes  a  fellow  with  boots ;  let  us  stop  him."  They 
did  so,  and  speedily  asked  him  what  was  that  paper  he  had 
thrust  in  his  boot.  The  road  which  he  travelled  was  much 
frequented,  and  several  spectators  soon  gathered  to  the  scene, 
and  by  their  presence  prevented  the  conclusion  of  a  bargain 
to  which  both  parties  were  equally  well  inclined. 

Tradition  in  this  case  has  little  value  save  as  a  matter  of 
curiosity ;  but  from  the  other  and  more  respectable  authori 
ties  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  at  least  the  inference  that  but  for 
the  strong  energetic  spirit  of  Paulding,  there  is  a  probability 
that  Andre  would  have  got  off.  It  is  evident  that  his  captors 
were  of  wild,  unsettled  dispositions,  engaged  now  on  an  ex 
pedition  that  was  certainly  unsanctioned  by  the  laws  and 
practices  of  the  American  army.  That  they  despoiled  their 
prisoner  is  also  established :  and  but  for  the  papers  on  his 
person  the  matter  might  have  ended  there.  The  resolution 
and  sagacity  of  Paulding  are  testified  by  the  course  pursued 
on  this  discovery ;  and  while  we  can  easily  see  how  young 
men  in  their  position  delighted  in  enterprises  that  had  a  zest 
in  their  very  risks  and  unlawfulness,  it  is  as  plain  that  when 
love  of  plunder  and  love  of  country  were  conspicuously  bal 
anced  before  their  eyes,  the  former  kicked  the  beam.  Their 
service  to  America  was  so  great  as  to  completely  cover  up 
the  circumstances  that  enabled  them  to  render  it.  It  was 
charged  that  some  of  them  at  least  were  of  that  large  class 
who,  changeable  as  motes  in  sunbeams,  were  to  be  found  by 
chance  arrayed  with  either  side  that  prevailed  in  the  Neutral 
Ground : — 

"  Commutare  viain,  retroque  repulsa  reverti 
Nunc  hue,  nunc  illuc,  in  cunctas  denique  paries." 

If  this  be  so  they  are  not  the  first  whose  night's  exploit  at 
Gadshill  is  a  little  gilded  over  by  the  day's  service  at  Shrews 
bury. 

"Washington,  Hamilton,  and  the  world  have  marvelled  at 
the  failure  in  this  critical  moment  of  Andre's  usual  address 


320  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

and  presence  of  mind.  Has  it  ever  been  considered  possible 
that  matters  might  have  been  so  ordered  that  nothing  but 
force  could  have  got  him  through  ?  He  avowed  himself 
British :  so  did  his  captors,  and  seized  him.  There  was 
more  probability  to  a  stranger  of  their  being  British,  than 
himself.  They  were  near  the  royal  lines,  and  one  of  them 
in  a  royal  jacket.  He  next  produced  Arnold's  pass.  This 
was  thrown  aside ;  though  there  was  nothing  but  his  previous 
assertion,  which  was  founded  on  their  own  stratagem,  to  war 
rant  the  suspicion  that  it  was  not  valid.  That  they  thought 
him  a  spy  when  they  searched  him  is  more  than  I  believe. 
General  Heath  says  they  knew  not  what  he  was  ;  nor  he, 
whether  his  captors  were  Americans,  British,  or  refugees. 
It  is,  however,  proper  to  say  that  on  every  subsequent  occa 
sion  they  solemnly  and  steadily  professed  the  entire  purity 
of  their  conduct  and  motives  in  all  this  transaction. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Andre  a  Prisoner  in  our  Lines.  —  Intercourse  with  American  Officers.  — 
Letters  to  Washington. — Arnold's  Escape. 

RETAINING  Andre's  horse,  watch,  and  other  effects  as  law 
ful  prize  to  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  seven,  the  captors 
handed  him  over  to  Lieut.-Col.  John  Jameson  who,  in  com 
mand  of  Sheldon's  Dragoons  and  some  Connecticut  militia, 
was  now  at  North  Castle.  Jameson  was  a  Virginian ;  an 
approved  soldier,  of  gentle  manners  and  unstained  integrity. 
His  manly  person,  comely  face,  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  po 
lite  bearing  are  commemorated  by  the  ladies  of  his  time ;  and 
he  was  wounded  in  a  service  at  Valley  Forge  which  received 
"Washington's  especial  thanks.  To  him  the  prisoner  was  still 
John  Anderson;  and  a  careful  scrutiny  of  the  mysterious 
papers  threw  no  light  on  the  business.  Pure  himself  he  sus 
pected  least  of  all  things  the  guilt  of  his  general ;  and  though 
the  pass  was  a  puzzle  to  him,  he  thought  the  whole  affair  was 
a  device  of  the  enemy  to  injure  Arnold  and  plant  distrust  and 
dissension  in  our  camp.  So  Washington  pronounced  of  his 
conduct,  when  calm  reflection  had  dispelled  the  effect  of  the 
angry  disappointment  in  which  he  dropped  words  that  stig 
matized  it  with  bewilderment  and  egregious  folly.  To  the 
conclusions  that  Jameson  now  came,  Andre's  language  per 
haps  aided ;  for  well  he  knew  that  to  but  one  man  in  our 
army  could  he  look  for  relief.  If  he  might  meet  Arnold  ere 
the  affair  leaked  out,  both  might  escape  together.  He  there 
fore  uttered  not  a  syllable  that  would  betray  the  secret ;  and 
with  intense  satisfaction  heard  he  was  to  be  sent  to  West 
Point.  He  already  had  desired  that  Arnold  might  be  in 
structed  that  John  Anderson  was  arrested  with  a  pass  signed 
21 


322  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDES. 

by  the  general ;  and  Jameson  thought  the  simplest  plan  would 
be  to  send  the  prisoner  himself  to  head-quarters.  It  was  his 
duty  under  ordinary  circumstances  to  report  the  transaction 
to  Arnold  ;  and  accordingly  in  a  brief  note  he  related  what 
was  done,  and  dispatched  Lieutenant  Allen  and  four  of  the 
Connecticut  militia  \vith  the  letter  and  captive  to  West  Point. 
The  papers  he  transmitted  by  express  to  Washington.  By 
these  means  he  had  discharged  his  duty,  and  at  the  same 
time  given  such  warning  of  the  business  that  but  for  the 
Vulture,  of  whose  position  he  was  not  aware,  and  for  the  un 
expected  delay  in  his  enclosures  reaching  the  chief,  Arnold 
really  could  not  have  escaped.  When  Jameson  therefore  is 
accused  of  imbecility  on  this  occasion,  it  is  well  to  recall  his 
actual  conduct,  and  to  reflect  on  the  insubordination  he  would 
have  been  charged  with,  had  Arnold  been  innocent,  in  daring 
to  report  directly  to  the  commander-in-chief,  without  regard 
to  his  lawful  superior,  to  whom  all  details  of  duty  should 
ordinarily  be  submitted. 

Andre  was  already  advanced  some  distance  towards  West 
Point  when,  late  in  the  day,  Major  Tallmadge  returned  to 
North  Castle  from  a  temporary  service  on  which  he  had  been 
detached.  Tallmadge  was  no  ordinary  man  ;  and  though  now 
but  twenty-six  years  of  age  he  possessed  a  remarkably  ma 
tured  judgment.  His  education  was  liberal,  and  ere  entering 
the  army  he  had  taught  a  public  school  in  Connecticut.  To 
the  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  particularly  of  that  portion 
of  it  who  inhabited  this  part  of  the  country,  was  added  the 
especial  acquirements  his  peculiar  service  involved :  for  from 
early  in  1778  to  the  end  of  the  war  he  was  employed  by 
Washington  to  carry  on  the  secret  correspondence  with  our 
spies  in  New  York,  and  in  guarding  Westchester  county 
from  the  depredations  of  Cow-boys,  Skinners,  and  De  Lan- 
cy's  Refugee  corps.  The  general  character  of  every  inhab 
itant  was  a  necessary  part  of  such  an  officer's  knowledge, 
and  to  deal  with  a  spy  a  duty  of  his  every-day  life.  He 
had  moreover  a  laudable  pride  in  his  profession  ;  and  now 


ANDR£  A  PRISONER.  323 

that  accoutrements  came  in  from  France,  his  troop  in  Shel 
don's  dragoons,  mounted  all  on  dapple-gray  horses,  with  their 
black  bearskin  holsters  and  straps,  and  helmets  crowned  with 
horse-tail  plumes,  presented  an  effect  not  often  seen  at  the 
period  in  our  ranks. 

Had  Tallmadge  returned  sooner,  or  not  at  all,  Andre  would 
not  have  been  hung.  In  the  one  case,  Arnold  would  have  . 
been  seized  on ;  in  the  other,  both  would  have  got  away 
together.  For  no  sooner  had  Jameson  related  what  had 
transpired,  than  coupling  the  letter  Arnold  had  written  him 
respecting  this  very  Anderson  with  the  treacherous  docu 
ments  and  pass,  he  was  convinced  of  his  General's  treason. 
He  warmly  represented  the  inconsistency  of  Jameson's  course, 
and  offered  to  take  on  himself  all  blame  if  permission  might 
be  accorded  to  prevent  any  notice  going  to  Arnold  of  the 
capture.  Convinced  of  Arnold's  innocence,  Jameson  was 
not  the  less  disturbed  by  his  Major's  suggestions ;  and  unde 
cided  on  any  persistent  course  he  consented  to  detain  Andre 
while  the  letter  still  went  to  Arnold.  An  express  was  hur 
ried  off  with  these  instructions,  and  the  prisoner's  journey 
interrupted.  During  the  part  of  the  night  that  remained, 
Jameson  and  Tallmadge  took  a  deliberate  survey  of  their 
captive.  Despite  his  wayworn  air  and  rusty  apparel,  there 
was  a  gentleness  and  refinement  in  all  he  did  that  bespoke 
no  ordinary  man ;  and  the  manner  of  his  walk  as  in  gloomy 
meditation  he  paced  the  chamber-floor,  and  the  precise  mili 
tary  mode  in  which  he  turned  upon  his  heel,  convinced  both 
that  he  was  no  civilian.  Early  on  the  morrow  he  was  sent 
over  to  South  or  Lower  Salem,  to  the  head-quarters  of  Shel 
don's  regiment. 

About  eight  A.  M.,  then,  on  September  24th,  Andre  was 
brought  to  the  Gilbert  farm-house,  and  committed  to  the  cus 
tody  of  Lieut.  King  of  the  Dragoons,  who  has  left  us  this 
account  of  what  ensued. 

"  He  looked  somewhat  like  a  reduced  gentleman.  His 
small-clothes  were  nankeen,  with  handsome  white-top  boots 


324  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

—  in  fact,  his  undress  military  clothes.  His  coat  purple,  with 
gold-lace,  worn  somewhat  threadbare,  with  a  small-brimmed 
tarnished  beaver  on  his  head.  He  wore  his  hair  in  a  queue, 
with  long  black  beard,  and  his  clothes  somewhat  dirty.  In 
this  garb  I  took  charge  of  him.  After  breakfast  my  barber 
came  in  to  dress  me,  after  which  I  requested  him  to  go 
through  the  same  operation,  which  he  did.  When  the  rib 
bon  was  taken  from  his  hair  I  observed  it  full  of  powder  ; 
this  circumstance,  with  others  that  occurred,  induced  me  to 
believe  I  had  no  ordinary  person  in  charge.  He  requested 
permission  to  take  the  bed  whilst  his  shirt  and  small-clothes 
could  be  washed.  I  told  him  that  was  needless,  for  a  shirt 
was  at  his  service,  which  he  accepted.  We  were  close  pent 
up  in  a  bedroom,  with  a  vidette  at  the  door  and  window. 
There  was  a  spacious  yard  before  the  door,  which  he  desired 
he  might  be  permitted  to  walk  in  with  me.  I  accordingly 
disposed  of  my  guard  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  an  es 
cape.  While  walking  together  he  observed  he  must  make  a 
confidant  of  somebody,  and  he  knew  not  a  more  proper  per 
son  than  myself,  as  I  had  appeared  to  befriend  a  stranger  in 
distress.  After  settling  the  point  between  ourselves,  he  told 
me  who  he  was,  and  gave  me  a  short  account  of  himself, 
from  the  time  he  was  taken  in  St.  Johns  in  1775  to  that 
time." 

Returning  to  the  house,  writing  materials  were  supplied 
him,  and  since  he  was  informed  that  his  papers  were  sent  to 
Washington,  whose  orders,  and  not  Arnold's,  should  decide 
his  condition,  he  immediately  wrote  to  our  commander. 

ANDRE    TO    WASHINGTON. 

Salem,  the  24th  Sept.  1780.  — SIR:  What  I  have  as  yet 
said  concerning  myself  was  in  the  justifiable  attempt  to  be 
extricated  ;  I  am  too  little  accustomed  to  duplicity  to  have 
succeeded. 

I  beg  your  Excellency  will  be  persuaded  that  no  alteration 


LETTER  TO  WASHIXTON.  325 

in  the  temper  of  my  mind,  or  apprehension  for  my  safety, 
induces  me  to  take  the  step  of  addressing  you,  but  that  it  is 
to  rescue  myself  from  an  imputation  of  having  assumed  a 
mean  character  for  treacherous  purposes  or  self-interest,  a 
conduct  incompatible  with  the  principles  that  actuate  me,  as 
well  as  with  my  condition  in  life.  It  is  to  vindicate  my  fame 
that  I  speak  and  not  to  solicit  security.  The  Person  in  your 
possession  is  Major  John  Andre,  Adjutant  General  to  the 
British  Army. 

The  influence  of  one  Commander  in  the  army  of  his  ad 
versary  is  an  advantage  taken  in  war.  A  correspondence 
for  this  purpose  I  held ;  as  confidential,  in  the  present  in 
stance,  with  His  Excellency  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 

To  favor  it  I  agreed  to  meet  upon  ground  not  within 
posts  of  either  army  a  person  who  was  to  give  me  intelli 
gence  ;  I  came  up  in  the  Vulture  M.  of  War  for  this  effect 
and  was  fetched  by  a  boat  from  the  shore  to  the  beach  ; 
being  there  I  was  told  that  the  approach  of  day  would  pre 
vent  my  return  and  that  I  must  be  concealed  until  the  next 
night.  I  was  in  my  Regimentals  and  had  fairly  risked  my 
person. 

Against  my  stipulation  my  intention  and  without  my 
knowledge  before  hand  I  was  conducted  within  one  of  your 
posts.  Your  Excellency  may  conceive  my  sensation  on 
this  occasion  &  will  imagine  how  much  more  I  must  have 
been  affected,  by  a  refusal  to  reconduct  me  back  the  next 
night  as  I  had  been  brought.  Thus  become  prisoner  I 
had  to  concert  my  escape.  I  quitted  my  uniform  &  was 
passed  another  way  in  the  night  without  the  American  posts 
to  neutral  ground,  and  informed  I  was  beyond  all  armed 
parties  and  left  to  press  for  New- York.  I  was  taken  at 
Tarry  Town  by  some  volunteers.  Thus  as  I  have  had  the 
honour  to  relate  was  I  betrayed  (being  Adjutant  General  of 
the  B.  Army)  into  the  vile  condition  of  an  enemy  in  disguise 
within  your  posts. 

Having  avowed  myself  a  British  Officer,  I  have  nothing  to 


326  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

reveal  but  what  relates  to  myself  which  is  true  on  the  hon 
our  of  an  officer  and  a  Gentleman.  The  request  I  have  to 
make  to  your  Excellency  and  I  am  conscious  I  address  my 
self  well,  is  that  in  any  rigor  policy  may  dictate,  a  decency 
of  conduct  towards  me  [may]  mark  that  tho'  unfortunate  I 
am  branded  with  nothing  dishonorable  as  no  motive  could  be 
mine  but  the  service  of  my  King  and  as  I  was  involuntarily 
an  impostor. 

Another  request  is,  that  I  may  be  permitted  to  write  an 
open  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  another  to  a  friend,  for 
cloaths  and  linnen. 

I  take  the  liberty  to  mention  the  condition  of  some  gentle 
men  at  Charlestown  who  being  either  on  parole  or  under 
protection  were  ingaged  in  a  Conspiracy  against  us.  Tho' 
their  situation  is  not  exactly  similar,  they  are  objects  who 
may  be  set  in  exchange  for  me,  or  are  persons  whom  the 
treatment  I  receive  might  affect. 

It  is  no  less  Sir  in  a  confidence  in  the  generosity  of  your 
mind,  than  on  account  of  your  superior  station  that  I  have 
chosen  to  importune  you  with  this  letter.  I  have  the  honor 
to  be  with  great  respect,  Sir,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient 
&  most  humble  servant,  JOHN  ANDRE,  Adj.  Genl. 

His  Excy.  Gen.  Washington. 

This  letter  written,  a  load  was  lifted  from  Andre's  mind. 
He  was  no  longer  compelled  to  associate  with  gentlemen  un 
der  a  false  name  and  guise.  Despite  Tallmadge's  previous 
suspicions,  its  contents  amazed  him  when  it  was  given  him  to 
read :  but  neither  he,  nor  King,  Bronson,  and  the  other  offi 
cers  at  the  post,  could  remain  unmoved  by  the  refinement  and 
amiability  of  their  guest.  His  other  arts  came  in  aid  of  his 
conversational  powers,  and  with  ready  hand  and  easy  light- 
heartedness  of  manner,  he  sketched  his  own  progress  under 
the  rude  escort  of  militia  to  their  quarters.  "  This,"  said  he 
to  Bronson,  "  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the  style  in  which  I 
have  had  the  honor  to  be  conducted  to  my  present  abode." 


INTERCOURSE  WITH  AMERICAN  OFFICERS.         327 

With  similar  pleasantries  he  passed  away  the  morning  as  un 
concernedly  as  though  he  were  in  no  danger  whatever. 

Let  us  now  follow  the  letters  to  Washington  and  Arnold. 
As  the  first  had  taken  the  lower  road  to  Hartford  through 
Peekskill  and  Danbury,  he  was  expected  to  return  by  the 
same  route ;  and  Jameson's  messenger  came  nearly  to  Dan- 
bury  in  hope  to  meet  him.  From  prudential  or  other  mo 
tives,  however,  Washington  had  followed  the  way  that  struck 
the  Hudson  higher  up.  He  passed  through  Providence, 
where  eager  throngs  with  torches  and  loud  acclamations  wel 
comed  his  appearance.  "  We  may  be  beaten  by  the  Eng 
lish,"  he  said,  pressing  the  hand  of  Dumas  ;  "  it  is  the  fortune 
of  war,  but  behold  an  army  which  they  can  never  conquer." 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  24th  he  reached  Fishkill,  eighteen 
miles  above  Robinson's  House,  and  after  a  brief  halt,  set  forth 
again  in  design  to  spend  the  night  with  Arnold.  Scarce  had 
he  ridden  three  miles,  however,  when  unexpectedly  he  en 
countered  the  French  envoy,  M.  de  Luzerne,  on  his  way  also 
to  Rochambeau.  There  was  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides  ; 
the  day  was  advanced,  and  the  minister  was  urgent  that 
Washington  should  turn  back  to  the  nearest  public  house. 
He  returned  thus  to  Fishkill  and  here,  as  has  been  observed, 
at  an  entertainment  provided  by  General  Scott  for  the  distin 
guished  visitors,  he  sat  at  board  with  Joshua  Smith,  each  little 
dreaming  of  what  had  transpired  since  the  yesterday  morning, 
or  of  the  blow  that  averted  from  the  one  should  so  shortly  fall 
on  the  other.  On  the  25th,  his  baggage  was  forwarded  be 
times  to  Robinson's  House,  with  intimation  that  Washington 
and  his  suite  would  be  there  to  breakfast. 

Winding  through  rugged  hills  that  Chastellux  describes  as 
the  proper  abodes  of  bears,  the  main  road  approached  the 
Hudson  but  a  little  above  West  Point ;  and  here  Washington 
turned  his  horse  into  a  country  path  which  descended  to  the 
stream.  La  Fayette  remonstrated  at  the  diversion :  they 
were  already  late,  and  their  hostess  expected  them.  "  Ah," 
said  Washington,  "  I  know  you  young  men  are  all  in  love 


328  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    AXDRE. 

with  Mrs.  Arnold,  and  wish  to  get  where  she  is  as  soon 
as  possible.  You  may  go  and  take  your  breakfast  with 
her,  and  tell  her  not  to  wait  for  me.  I  must  ride  down  and 
examine  the  redoubts  on  this  side  of  the  river,  and  will  be 
there  in  a  short  time."  But  his  suite  remained  also,  save 
two  aides  who  rode  on  with  the  message.* 

Breakfast  was  served  without  delay  on  their  arrival  at 
Robinson's  House,  and  with  Arnold's  family  and  Burnet  and 
some  other  officers  they  sat  down  in  the  low -ceiled  room 
that  still  remains  unchanged.  Heavy  beams  extend  above  ; 
and  wainscotting  protects  a  fireplace  without  a  mantelpiece. 
Opening  into  this  was  another  room  used  by  Arnold  as  an 
office.  While  at  table,  a  letter  was  delivered  to  the  Gen 
eral.  It  was  Jameson's  of  the  23rd,  now  brought  by  Allen, 
that  told  him  of  Andre's  capture,  of  his  detention,  and  of  the 
transmission  to  Washington  of  the  papers  that  he  bore. 
Burnet,  Mctlenry,  and  others  afterwards  remarked  on  the 
tranquillity  with  which  he  received  the  terrible  tidings  this 
scroll  conveyed.  Some  little  embarrassment  he  indeed  be 
trayed,  but  nothing  in  his  manner  or  words  indicated  its 
momentous  nature  or  cause.  He  retained  his  place  for 
several  minutes,  joining  in  the  general  conversation  :  then 
pleading  business,  he  begged  his  guests  to  make  themselves 
at  home  while  he  was  for  a  little  absent  from  them.  For  he 
well  knew  that  he  had  not  a  minute  to  lose.  It  was  now 
two  full  days  since  Andre*  was  taken,  and  Washington  might 
in  any  instant  come  upon  him  in  full  possession  of  his  guilty 
secret.  To  the  Aides  he  said  that  he  was  compelled  to  cross 
to  West  Point  without  delay,  and  bade  them  tell  their  chief 
on  arriving  that  he  would  speedily  return. 

But  his  wife's  experienced  eye  had  already  detected  an  agi 
tation  in  her  husband's  manner  which  escaped  those  less  ob 
servant  :  and  while  he  made  his  apologies  to  his  guests,  she  had 

*  Whether  these  were  Hamilton  and  McHcnry  or  Shaw  and  McHeniy, 
I  am  not  clear.  See  Hamilton  Hist.  Rep.  ii.  54.  Cooper's  Trav.  Bach.  i. 
211.  Penn.  Packet,  Oct.  3,  1780.  Thacher,  263. 


ARNOLD'S  ESCAPE.  329 

also  risen  from  the  board,  and  followed  him  from  the  apart 
ment.  Peremptorily  ordering  Allen  to  mention  to  no  one 
that  he  had  brought  a  letter  from  Jameson,  he  bade  the 
coxswain  of  his  barge  be  summoned  and  a  horse  pre 
pared.  "  Any  horse,"  he  cried,  —  "  even  a  wagon-horse  !  " 
Then  he  repaired  to  Mrs.  Arnold's  chamber  and  with  stern 
brevity  apprised  her  that  they  must  at  once  part,  and  per 
haps  forever :  that  his  life  depended  on  his  instant  flight. 
The  panic-struck  woman  screamed  loudly  while  he,  bidding 
the  maid  whom  the  outcry  had  already  alarmed  to  attend  her 
mistress,  pressed  her  swooning  form  to  his  breast,  gave  a 
hasty  kiss  to  his  unconscious  child,  and  passed  again  to  the 
breakfast-room  to  mention  the  lady's  unexpected  illness.  At 
the  door  he  leaped  on  the  horse  of  one  of  his  aides,  and 
without  other  attendance  than  that  of  Larvey,  his  coxswain, 
who  followed  on  foot,  dashed  down  the  path  which  in  half  a 
mile  brought  him  to  the  water-side  ;  Larvey  shouting  to  the 
bargemen  as  he  descended  to  hasten  to  their  places.  Seiz 
ing  the  holsters  from  his  saddlebow,  Arnold  sprang  into  the 
boat,  and  in  his  eagerness  to  be  gone  would  have  had  the 
bowman  push  off  ere  all  the  men  were  mustered.  In  a  mo 
ment  they  were  in  the  stream ;  and  with  nervous  anxiety,  but 
apparently  resolute  not  to  be  taken  alive,  he  reprimed  his 
pistols,  and  retaining  them  in  his  hands  kept  cocking  and 
half-cocking  them  along  all  the  way.  He  sat  it  would  seein 
in  the  prow  ;  and  when  the  bow-oarsman  answering  told  him 
that  in  their  haste  the  crew  had  brought  no  weapons  save 
two  swords,  his  vexation  was  not  concealed.  However,  the 
tide  was  in  his  favor,  and  he  hurried  them  on.  He  bore  a 
flag,  he  said,  to  the  Vulture,  seventeen  or  eighteen  miles  be 
low,  and  must  reach  her  in  all  haste,  to  return  to  meet 
Washington  at  his  quarters  ;  when  two  gallons  of  rum  should 
reward  their  labor.  The  oarsmen,  observes  Washington, 
"were  very  clever  fellows,  and  some  of  the  better  class 
of  soldiery."  Quickened  by  their  general's  words,  they 
bent  to  their  work  and  the  barge  spun  through  the  waters 


330  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

Well  might  Arnold  be  in  haste,  for  behind  him  and  on  either 
side  was  danger.  As  he  neared  King's  Ferry,  the  ship 
came  broadly  into  view,  riding  at  anchor  a  little  below  the 
mooring  where  Andre  left  her  and  still  waiting  his  return. 
Gliding  between  Verplanck's  and  Stony  Points,  Livingston 
from  the  shore  in  amazement  recognized  his  commander 
waving  as  a  white  flag  the  handkerchief  he  had  bound  to  the 
end  of  his  walking-stick  :  and  with  no  suspicion  of  the  plot 
was  nevertheless  so  surprised  at  the  scene  that  he  would  fain 
have  manned  a  guard-boat  and  come  alongside  of  Arnold  to 
know  the  meaning  of  such  anomalous  procedures.  But  the 
crews  were  dispersed  on  shore,  and  ere  anything  could  be 
done  the  barge  was  under  the  Vulture's  batteries.  Livings 
ton  afterwards  thought  his  presence  in  this  juncture  would 
have  so  disturbed  the  traitor  that  his  secret  would  have 
escaped,  and  his  person  probably  seized  ;  but  it  is  question 
able  whether  anything  could  now  have  shaken  Arnold's 
composure,  and  whether  on  the  first  attempt  at  restraint  he 
would  not  have  blown  out  Livingston's  brains. 

Alongside  of  the  ship,  Arnold  unbound  his  handkerchief 
and  wiped  from  his  brow  the  great  beads  which  hung  there. 
Hastening  on  board,  he  explained  to  Sutherland  and  Robin 
son  the  position  of  affairs,  and  calling  up  the  bargemen, 
endeavored  to  allure  them  into  the  king's  service  under 
threats  of  retaining  them  else  as  prisoners.  The  coxswain 
Larvey  sturdily  refused.  "  If  General  Arnold  likes  the  king 
of  England  let  him  serve  him,"  quoth  he ;  "  we  love  our 
country,  and  intend  to  live  or  die  in  support  of  her  cause  "  : 
and  so  said  his  six  comrades.  Sutherland,  though  indignant, 
would  not  interfere  with  Arnold's  orders.  He  bade  Larvey 
go  with  his  flag  to  shore  and  procure  some  necessaries  for  the 
party ;  and  when  they  reached  New  York  Clinton  at  once  gave 
them  their  parole :  an  unusual  favor  to  private  men.  Two 
of  them,  English  deserters,  had  wept  bitterly  on  the  ship  at 
the  prospect  of  going  to  New  York  to  be  identified  and 
hanged  :  once  there,  they  slipped  on  board  a  letter  of  marque 


ROBINSON  TO  WASHINGTON.  331 

just  ready  to  sail,  and  got  away  undiscovered.  The  re 
mainder  were  released  with  a  parting  word  and  some  money 
from  Arnold,  and  were  soon  again  with  their  friends.* 

There  was  nothing  to  keep  the  Vulture  longer,  after  a  flag 
had  been  sent  to  Verplanck's  with  letters  to  Washington  from 
Arnold  and  Robinson.  The  first,  with  an  enclosed  letter  to 
his  wife  and  assurances  of  her  innocence  and  entreaties  for 
her  protection,  contained  also  some  protestations  of  integrity. 
The  last  is  as  follows  :  — 


ROBINSON    TO    WASHINGTON. 

Vulture  off  Sinsinfc,  Sept.  25^,  1780. —  SIR:  I  am  this 
moment  informed  that  Major  Andre,  Adjutant  Genl.  of  His 
Majesty's  Army  in  America,  is  detained  as  a  prisoner  by  the 
army  under  your  command.  It  is  therefore  incumbent  on 
me  to  inform  you  of  the  manner  of  his  falling  into  your 
hands :  He  went  up  with  a  flag,  at  the  request  of  General 
Arnold,  on  publick  business  with  him,  and  had  his  permit  to 
return  by  land  to  New- York;  under  these  circumstances 
Major  Andre  cannot  be  detained  by  you,  without  the  greatest 
violation  of  flags,  and  contrary  to  the  custom  and  usage  of 
all  nations,  and  as  I  imagine  you  will  see  this  matter  in  the 
same  point  of  view  as  I  do,  I  must  desire  you  will  order  him 
to  be  set  at  liberty,  and  allowed  to  return  immediately  ; 
every  step  Major  Andre  took  was  by  the  advice  and  direc 
tion  of  General  Arnold,  even  that  of  taking  a  feigned  name, 
and  of  course  not  liable  to  censure  for  it.  I  am,  Sir,  not  for 
getting  our  former  acquaintance,  your  very  H.  Sert. 

BEV.  ROBINSON,  Colo. 

*  Heath  says,  when  Larvey  was  offered  a  commission  in  the  British  ser 
vice,  he  swore  he  would  be before  he  fought  on  both  sides :  but  that 

discontented  at  not  receiving  from  the  Americans  what  the  enemy  had 
proposed,  he  sought  and  got  his  discharge  from  our  army.  That  Arnold 
also  gave  the  crew  their  choice  of  going  ashore  or  of  enlisting  with  him : 
that  one  or  two  stayed,  and  the  rest  were  sent  ashore  with  Larvey,  is  also 
asserted  by  Heath,  whose  authority  here  is  very  good  indeed. 


332  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

The  anchor  was  weighed,  and  on  the  flag's  return  the  ship 
made  sail  that  afternoon,  and  reached  New  York  the  next 
morning. 

Meanwhile  Jameson's  courier  in  quest  of  Washington  had 
passed  through  South  Salem  and  probably  received  there 
Andre's  letter  of  the  24th.  He  came  to  Robinson's  House 
after  the  chief  had  crossed  the  river.  For  when  he  heard 
on  arrival  near  noon,  and  a  full  hour  after  Arnold's  depart 
ure,  what  that  officer  had  said  and  done,  Washington  thought 
there  was  no  better  time  for  examining  the  works  at  West 
Point  than  when  its  commander  was  on  the  spot.  After  a 
hurried  breakfast,  he  hastened  away  to  be  back  ere  dinner 
time  ;  followed  by  La  Fayette  and  all  his  suite  save  Hamil 
ton.  As  they  crossed  the  river,  overhung  with  lofty  crags 
and  hills,  Washington  listened  for  the  thirteen  great  guns 
that  should  salute  his  approach.  The  echoing  thunders  of 
cannon  here  reverberating  from  the  opposite  banks  had  ac 
quired  a  sort  of  celebrity.  But  no  bustle  of  preparation 
greeted  his  coming,  nor  was  there  any  exhibition  of  the 
formal  pomp  and  ceremony  of  war.  The  party  were  per 
mitted  to  land  with  no  acknowledgment  of  its  quality,  and 
the  commanding  officer  had  barely  time  to  hurry  down  the 
path  to  receive  it. 

To  a  character  of  Washington's  punctilio  this  manner  of 
reception  was  not  agreeable.  Lamb  in  some  confusion  apol 
ogized  for  it  by  stating  the  unexpected  nature  of  the  visit. 
"  How  ! "  said  the  Chief,  "  is  not  General  Arnold  here  ?  " 
"  No,  sir,  we  have  not  seen  him  on  this  side  of  the  river  to- 
da\ ."  Washington  said  afterwards  that  on  this  he  was  struck 
with  the  impropriety  of  Arnold's  conduct,  and  had  some  mis 
givings  ;  but  he  never  for  a  moment  suspected  the  real  cause. 
The  party  climbed  the  hill,  and  after  an  hour  or  two  of  gen 
eral  inspection  and  the  tardy  salute  of  thirteen  guns  being  at 
last  rendered,  it  returned  to  the  other  shore. 

As  they  drew  near  Robinson's  House,  Hamilton  was  seen 
excitedly  pacing  the  court-yard  with  a  parcel  of  papers  in  his 


THE  TREASON  DISCOVERED.  333 

hands.  These  were  Jameson's  enclosures  that  had  arrived 
about  2  P.  M.,  and  which  in  virtue  of  his  post  the  secretary 
had  opened  in  his  chief's  absence.  Retiring  together  to  their 
examination,  they  soon  possessed  Arnold's  secret.  It  was  at 
once  resolved  to  arrest  him  if  possible,  and  Hamilton  and 
McHenry  were  despatched  at  full  gallop  to  Verplanck's  for 
this  end.  But  it  was  4  p.  M.  when  they  started  in  pursuit  of 
a  man  who  had  left  at  10  A.  M.  ;  who,  ere  their  feet  were  in 
the  stirrups,  must  have  been  under  the  Vulture's  guns.  By 
7  P.  M.,  notice  that  the  Vulture  was  gone  with  Arnold  to  New 
York  came  with  Robinson's  and  the  traitor's  letters  to  head 
quarters. 

Washington  had  not  noised  the  treason.  He  saw  Mrs. 
Arnold,  whose  hysterical  passion  satisfied  all  about  her  that 
she  could  communicate  nothing  in  regard  to  the  business  ; 
and  to  La  Fayette  and  Knox,  with  eyes  suffused,  he  had 
privately  revealed  the  affair.  "  Arnold  is  a  traitor  and  has 
fled  to  the  British,"  said  he.  "  Whom  can  we  trust  now  ?  " 
But  the  gravity  of  the  risk  was  not  lost  on  him :  the  very 
day  had  doubtless  arrived  that  had  originally  been  fixed  on 
for  the  execution  of  the  design  ;  and  as  the  wind  was  favora 
ble  for  an  ascending  fleet,  there  was  no  knowing  but  what  an 
attack  might  be  made  that  very  night.  Brief  space  sufficed 
to  show  that  every  thing  possible  had  been  done  to  facilitate 
it.  The  works  were  found  neglected ;  the  troops  dispersed. 
Forthwith  the  garrison  was  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  the  lines 
manned.  Couriers  were  now  sent  in  every  direction,  bring 
ing  up  detachments  of  the  garrison  ;  warning  officers  to  stand 
on  their  guard  ;  and  rousing  with  the  alarm  the  camp  at 
Tappaan  from  its  midnight  slumbers.  When  he  perceived 
the  condition  of  his  hostess,  Washington  with  entire  calm 
ness  bade  the  guests  sit  down  without  ceremony,  since  her 
illness  and  Arnold's  absence  left  no  other  alternative  :  and 
no  stranger  would  have  conjectured  from  his  manner  that  he 
was  in  possession  of  the  fatal  secret. 

Ere  the  cloth  was  removed,  the  affair  began  to  leak  out 


334  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

in  whispers  among  the  guests ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  26th 
or  27th  that  it  was  buzzed  openly  abroad.  But  when  Ar 
nold's  letter  came  in,  the  rage  which  Washington  had  so  far 
kept  down  seemed  about  to  obtain  full  sway ;  and  they  who 
were  accustomed  to  note  his  every  change  of  mood  or  coun 
tenance  saw,  or  thought  they  saw,  according  to  La  Fayette, 
the  bursting  of  a  mighty  storm  of  wrath.  But  every  angry 
word  was  suppressed.  "  Go,"  he  said  to  an  aide,  "  to  Mrs. 
Arnold,  and  inform  her  that  though  my  duty  required  no 
means  should  be  neglected  to  arrest  General  Arnold,  I  have 
great  pleasure  in  acquainting  her  that  he  is  now  safe  on  board 
a  British  vessel  of  war."  * 

As  may  be  supposed,  where  no  one  knew  how  far  the  trea 
son  had  extended  or  by  what  means  it  had  been  carried  on, 
the  wildest  rumors  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth  ;  some  tolera 
bly  true,  many  intolerably  unfounded.  Chief  among  these 
was  the  still  repeated  tale  that  Andre  had  penetrated  our 
works  at  West  Point,  when  in  truth  he  had  been  no  nearer 
to  them  than  the  outside  of  the  forts  at  King's  Ferry,  many 
miles  below.  The  bargemen  were  lately  and  may  yet  be 
living  in  the  full  belief  that  they  had  carried  Arnold  and 
Andre  up  from  Smith's  house  to  head-quarters  ;  and  described 

*  Trav.  Bach.  i.  216.  In  this  work  Mr.  Cooper  gives  several  particulars 
of  Arnold's  treason,  that  possess  a  particular  value  from  the  authorities 
which  sullied  them.  He  heard  not  only  La  Fayette's  recollections  de 
clared  fom'-five  years  later  on  the  very  ground,  but  also  had  "  Arnold's 
own  statement  from  a  British  officer,  who  was  present  when  the  latter  re 
lated  his  escape  at  a  dinner  given  in  New  York,  with  an  impudence  that 
Avas  scarcely  less  remarkable  than  his  surprising  self-possession."  That 
details  so  valuable  are  so  little  referred  to  proceeds  perhaps  from  the  ex 
ceeding  dulness  of  the  book :  but  La  Fayette's  evidence,  given  from  recol 
lections  that  in  the  outset  were  tinged  with  great  excitement,  must  be  cau 
tiously  received.  Thus  to  Mr.  Cooper  he  said  that  when  McHenry  entered 
the  chamber  where  he  was  dressing  for  dinner,  and  carried  off  his  pistols 
to  pursue  Arnold,  not  a  word  was  said  of  the  plot;  nor  was  it  apparently 
communicated  to  him  till  he  and  Knox  learned  it  together  from  Washing 
ton.  In  his  Memoirs,  however,  the  marquis  distinctly  asserts  that  "  Gen 
eral  Washington  and  I"  discovered  the  conspiracy.  It  is  possible  that 
Marbois  mav  have  derived  from  this  source  some  of  his  information. 


RUMOURS   OF  THE  DAY.  335 

the  occasion  with  a  minuteness  that  extends  to  every  article 
of  the  supposed  spy's  apparel.  Letters  of  the  period  from 
our  army  reported  that  disguised  as  Smith's  serving-man  he 
had  gone  all  through  our  camp  ;  that  he  was  recognized  and 
betrayed  by  a  British  deserter,  and  brought  in  with  his  arms 
pinioned  ;  and  that  Washington  and  La  Fayette  were  to  have 
slept  that  night  at  Smith's  house,  where  in  the  dead  of  dark 
ness  Robinson  with  a  picked  party  was  to  seize  them ;  on 
which  Arnold  should  yield  West  Point.  The  marquis  him 
self  conceived  that  both  he  and  Luzerne  would  on  the  day 
of  Arnold's  flight  have  been  prisoners,  but  for  Andre's  detec 
tion.  The  best  British  contemporary  gossip  says  that  he 
was  betrayed  by  Smith,  whose  hanging  was  demanded  by 
many  people  in  New  York;  that  on  his  third  return  from  a 
clandestine  meeting  with  Arnold,  he  was  stopped  by  some 
Americans  who  at  first  dismissed  but  afterward  pursued  and 
stripped  him  of  his  watch  and  money :  whereon  he  advised 
them  to  let  him  go,  since  if  they  took  him  to  their  officers, 
the  spoil  would  be  forfeited :  that  he  did  not  offer  them  these 
things  when  they  seized  him  :  that  to  Washington  he  confessed 
nothing  but  that  he  was  a  spy,  until  some  of  our  own  spies 
identified  him,  two  of  whom  had  long  resided  in  New  York 
as  loyalists :  that  it  was  Arnold's  disapproval  which  prevented 
his  return  by  a  flag ;  and  that  he  would  give  no  explanation 
of  the  papers  he  bore  or  of  the  connectioas  he  had  formed 
in  our  army.  These  accounts,  mixed  with  much  error, 
shadow  forth  certain  facts  and  undoubtedly  came  from  An 
dre's  near  friends. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Andre"  brought  to  West  Point.  —  Sent  to  Tappaan.  —  His  Case  submitted 
to  a  Court  of  Enquiry.  —  Its  Decision  approved  by  Washington. 

IT  has  been  reported  that  Arnold  bade  his  wife  burn  all  his 
papers.  This  she  did  not  do  ;  and  they  were  of  coirrse  now 
seized,  and  eventually  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 
From  these,  and  from  information  of  his  recent  movements, 
a  ray  of  light  began  to  penetrate  the  mystery.  Orders  were 
already  sent  that  Andre  should  be  brought  up ;  at  7  p.  M. 
of  the  2oth,  these  were  repeated,  with  injunctions  to  guard 
against  his  escape.  "  I  would  not  wish  Mr.  Andre  to  be 
treated  with  insult,"  wrote  Washington ;  "  but  he  does  not 
appear  to  stand  upon  the  footing  of  a  common  prisoner  of 
war,  and  therefore  he  is  not  entitled  to  the  usual  indulgences 
which  they  receive,  and  is  to  be  most  closely  and  narrowly 
watched."  The  first  courier  reached  Sheldon's  post  at  mid 
night.  Andre  was  in  bed  at  the  time,  but  he  arose  and  pre 
pared  to  obey  the  orders.  A  more  dismal  night  for  so  dis 
mal  a  journey  could  not  have  been  found.  The  rain  fell 
heavily  and  the  skies  were  dark  and  scowling,  when  he  part 
ed  with  companions  to  whom  he  avowed  so  many  obligations, 
and  among  whom,  he  said,  whatever  happened  to  him  he 
could  never  thenceforward  recognize  a  foe.  The  strong  es 
cort  that  guarded  him  was  led  by  King ;  and  when  it  came 
to  North  Salem  meeting-house,  he  met  the  second  express, 
who  bade  him  change  his  route.  On  the  way,  probably  as 
a  further  precaution,  Tallmadge  and  two  other  officers  joined 
the  party  that,  marching  all  night,  came  to  Robinson's  House 
on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  26th  September.  Smith, 
who  had  already  been  brought  there  a  prisoner,  gives  a  very 


ANDR£  AT  WEST  POINT.  337 

particular  but  unluckily  not  very  probable  account  of  Andre's 
arrival.  There  may  be  some  truth  in  his  story  of  his  own 
reception,  for  both  Hamilton  and  Harrison  state  under  oath 
that  Washington  spoke  warmly  on  the  occasion,  and  used 
strong  language  to  wring  forth  a  confession  of  his  guilty 
dealings. 

"  I  answered  that  no  part  of  my  conduct  could  justify  the 
charge,  as  General  Arnold  if  present  would  prove  ;  that  what 
I  had  done  of  a  public  nature  was  by  the  direction  of  that 
general,  and  if  wrong  he  was  amenable ;  not  me,  for  acting 
agreeably  to  his  orders.  He  immediately  replied,  '  Sir,  do 
you  know  that  General  Arnold  has  lied,  and  that  Mr.  Ander 
son  whom  you  have  piloted  through  our  lines,  proves  to  be 
Major  John  Andre,  the  adjutant  general  of  the  British  array, 
now  our  prisoner  ?  I  expect  him  here,  under  a  guard  of  one 
hundred  horse,  to  meet  his  fate  as  a  spy,  and  unless  you  con 
fess  who  were  your  accomplices,  I  shall  suspend  you  both  on 
yonder  tree,'  pointing  to  a  tree  before  the  door.  He  then 
ordered  the  guards  to  take  me  away/' 

About  two  hours  later,  he  continues,  he  heard  the  tramp  of 
horses,  and  soon  after  the  voice  of  Andre  blended  with  those 
of  Washington  and  his  suite.  Their  conversation  was  con 
ducted  in  an  adjoining  apartment,  and  he  does  not  pretend 
to  repeat  it :  but  he  intimates  that  its  tendency  was  rather  to 
soothe  than  to  intimidate  the  prisoner,  and  to  procure  from 
him  further  information  of  the  conspiracy.  But  Smith,  like 
Marbois,  must  always  be  received  distrustfully ;  and  if  he 
means  here  that  Andre  was  personally  examined  by  Wash 
ington,  he  is  utterly  wrong.  Washington  saw  Tallmadge 
indeed  and  asked  him  many  questions ;  but  he  declined  hav 
ing  the  prisoner  brought  before  him  :  and  Tallmadge  always 
believed  that,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  he  never  saw  Andre 
in  all  his  confinement. 

In  fact,  however,  I  suppose  there  can  be  little  question 
that  while  every  honest  man  in  the  army  was  enraged  at  this 
nefarious  attempt  to  defraud  him  of  his  liberty  and  to  win 


338  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

by  guile  what  the  sword  could  not  accomplish,  Washington 
and  some  of  his  nearest  generals  had  peculiar  cause  for  in 
dignation.  The  patron  and  the  supporters  of  Arnold  knew 
too  well  the  deadly  hostility  of  many  powerful  civilians  to 
doubt  now  the  handle  that  might  be  made  of  this  transaction. 
St.  Clair  and  Schuyler  had  already  suffered  under  the  ca 
lumnious  suspicions  of  the  people  they  defended  ;  and  the 
ridiculously  false  but  industriously  propagated  story,  that  the 
evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  was  purchased  by  Burgoyne  with 
silver  balls  which,  cast  into  our  lines,  were  collected  by  St. 
Clair  and  divided  between  Sehuyler  and  himself,  was  not  dis 
countenanced  by  the  action  of  Congress.  Schuyler  indeed,  a 
gentleman  by  birth,  education,  and  habit,  had  refused  longer 
to  hold  a  commission  which  subjected  him  to  unmerited  igno 
miny  ;  but  St.  Glair's  fortune  was  scanty,  and  though  even 
now  he  was  unjustly  suspected  of  corrupt  dealings  with  the 
enemy,  he  continued  to  serve  in  the.  field  with  unabated  zeal. 
Nor  was  Washington  himself,  long  distrusted  by  many  in 
Congress,  unconscious  of  the  motive  that  caused  his  army  to 
be  attended  by  a  permanent  committee  of  that  body  ;  and  his 
earnest  and  fruitful  confidence  in  Arnold  gave  additional  vigor 
to  his  resentment  at  the  reward  his  confidence  had  received. 
"Whom  can  we  trust  now?" — he  well  might  ask;  and  in 
the  extremity  of  his  anger,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  what 
his  favorite's  fate  would  have  been,  had  the  fortunes  of  war 
brought  him  into  American  hands.  In  after  life,  even  in  the 
most  unrestrained  hours  of  social  ease,  he  could  not  refer  to 
the  absconding  officer  without  the  most  unmitigated  terms  of 
contempt :  and  at  the  existing  moment  he  seems  evidently  to 
have  shared  in  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  army,  that  by 
every  means  in  their  power,  a  dreadful  punishment  should  be 
inflicted  on  the  prisoners  in  his  hands  who  stood  nearest  to 
the  original  offence.  His  letters  written  prior  to  the  report  of 
the  Board  of  Officers  show  very  clearly  the  conviction  that 
Andre  was  a  spy,  and  that  Smith  was  equally  worthy  of 
death.  To  the  President  of  Congress  he  comments  (Sept. 


INDIGNATION  OF  THE  ARMY.  339 

26th)  on  Andre's  letter  of  the  24th  as  "  endeavoring  to  show 
that  he  did  not  come  under  the  description  of  a  spy."  On 
the  same  date  a  writer  from  the  camp  expresses  the  belief 
that  both  prisoners  "  will  grace  a  gallows  this  day."  On  the 
30th,  the  press  controlled  by  the  party  that  had  so  stoutly 
opposed  Arnold  in  Philadelphia,  the  seat  of  Congress,  loudly 
directed  public  opinion  to  those  who  as  senators  or  in  social 
life  were  his  friends,  as  the  sharers  of  his  guilt ;  and  pointed 
to  Mrs.  Arnold  as  an  accomplice.  On  the  same  day,  with 
Arnold's  effigy  those  of  Andre  and  Smith  were  borne  through 
the  streets,  hanging  from  a  gallows:  u  The  Adjutant-General 
of  the  British  Army  and  Joe  Smith  ;  the  first  hanged  as  a  spy 
and  the  other  as  a  traitor  to  his  country."  Truly,  both  yet 
lived,  and  one  was  never  hanged  at  all :  but  this  exhibition 
of  political  feeling  shows  very  clearly  how  bitter  might  have 
been  the  heats  had  no  punishment  been  inflicted  on  any  of 
fender.*  Even  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  army,  there  was 
a  yearning  for  vengeance,  mingled  with  abhorrence  of  the 
wrong  and  discontent  with  the  friends  of  its  author.  Over 
every  other  consideration,  however,  there  prevailed  in  the 
breasts  of  these  brave  and  good  men  unutterable  loathing 
and  supreme  hatred  for  every  development  of  the  crime  that 
would  have  bartered  away  themselves  and  their  constituents 
as  though  they  had  been  beasts  of  the  field.f 

*  There  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  the  debates  in  Congress  in 
volved  at  this  time  the  character  for  integrity  of  Arnold's  previous  support 
ers:  but  a  letter  from  Washington  to  Reed  (Oct.  18,  1780)  shows  that  the 
promulgation  of  Arnold's  private  correspondence  had  occasioned  Reed  to 
inquire  into  the  Chief's  sympathy  with  the  latter  in  his  troubles  at  Philadel 
phia,  and  to  inveigh  against  Schuvler.  Washington's  reply  cleared  his  own 
skirts  from  any  unfair  preference  for  Arnold,  and  discredits  the  imputations 
on  Schuyler's  character.  As  Reed's  letter  is  not  given,  its  nature  can  only 
be  inferred  from  the  reply  to  it;  for  which  see  Reed's  Reed,  ii.  277. 

I  "  Your  infamous  Arnold  has  abandoned  himself  to  an  eternal  infamy ! 
What  demon  impelled  him  to  take  this  detestable  step  V  Is  his  wife  the 

cause  or  only  the  occasion  of  the  crime  ?  Is mixed  with  this  horrible 

affair?  Is  Smith  hanged?  Cannot  Andre*  be  hanged?  I  am  very  curious 
to  hear  all  the  details  of  this  atrocity;  be  kind  enough  to  give  them  to  me. 
Arnold  is  not  the  only  man  whom  I  blame ;  he  who  once  has  made  the 


340  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

On  the  evening  of  the  26th,  the  prisoners  were  transported 
from  Robinson's  House  across  the  river  and  securely  bestowed 
at  West  Point.  On  the  27th,  Washington,  having  probably 
resolved  on  the  course  eventually  pursued,  sent  secret  orders 
to  Greene  that  he  should  receive  them  in  camp  on  the  ensu 
ing  day. 

"  They  will  be  under  an  escort  of  horse,  and  I  wish  you  to 
have  separate  houses  in  camp  ready  for  their  reception,  in 
which  they  may  be  kept  perfectly  secure ;  and  also  strong, 
trusty  guards  trebly  officered,  that  a  part  may  be  constantly 
in  the  room  with  them.  They  have  not  been  permitted  to  be 
together,  and  must  still  be  kept  apart.  I  would  wish  the 
room  for  Mr.  Andre  to  be  a  decent  one,  and  that  he  may  be 
treated  with  civility  ;  but  that  he  may  be  so  guarded  as  to 
preclude  a  possibility  of  his  escaping,  which  he  will  most 
certainly  attempt  to  effect,  if  it  shall  seem  practicable  in  the 
most  distant  degree." 

Accordingly  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  they  were  brought 
down  to  the  landing-place;  when,  says  Smith,  "I  saw  the 
amiable  Andre  near  me,  amongst  a  crowd  of  officers.  On 
stretching  my  hand  out  and  preparing  to  address  him,  I  was 
told  by  Major  Tallmadge  sternly  that  no  conversation  must 
take  place  between  us."  Each  was  seated  in  a  barge  well- 
manned,  and  with  a  favoring  tide  was  soon  at  Stony  Point. 
Here  at  the  King's  Ferry  landing,  a  detachment  of  the  2nd 
Light  Dragoons  was  in  waiting.  Tallmadge  took  the  com 
mand  and,  with  Andre  in  the  rear  and  his  companion  in  the 
van,  they  rode  away  through  Haverstraw  towards  Tappaan 
(or  Orangetown,  as  it  was  often  called),  where  lay  the  main 
army.  A  march  of  ten  miles  brought  them  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  John  Coe  where,  while  Tallmadge  vigilantly  posted 
videttes  and  sentinels,  the  party  dined.  They  resumed  their 
journey  after  dinner  and  by  a  circuitous  route  reached  Tap- 
country  suspicious  of  his  virtue  is  not  the  most  culpable,  when  the  blind 
and  criminal  confidence  that  is  put  in  him  makes  him  a  traitor.  That's  be 
tween  you  and  me.  —  Col.  Louis  de  Fleury  to  Steuben,  Oct.  6, 1780. 
Steuben,  625. 


ANDRE  SENT  TO   TAPPAAN.  341 

paan  about  dusk.  The  squadron  was  paraded  before  the 
church  in  which  Smith  was  confined  for  the  night ;  and  quar 
ters  were  provided  for  Andre  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Mabie, 
which,  though  altered  within,  still  stands  as  the  '76  Tavern. 
Here  every  attention  that  circumstances  admitted  was  ren 
dered  him.  But  for  a  fuller  account  of  this  day's  proceed 
ings  we  are  indebted  to  the  recollections  of  Tallmadge. 
Seated  side  by  side  in  the  boat  that  bore  them  down  the 
Hudson,  the  conversation  between  the  two  soldiers  was  free 
and  unreserved.  The  one  was  as  anxious  to  listen  as  the 
other  was  ready  to  communicate  ;  for  though  professional  foes 
on  the  field,  they  were  both  kind-hearted  gentlemen.  Andre 
unhesitatingly  pointed  out  the  spot  on  the  west  bank  where 
it  was  arranged  that,  in  the  event  of  the  conspiracy's  success, 
he  was  to  have  debarked  at  the  head  of  a  picked  corps,  and 
passed  unopposed  up  the  steep  to  the  rear  of  Fort  Putnam. 
The  acquisition  of  this  key  to  all  the  works  would,  as  Tall 
madge  observes,  in  every  probability  have  given  to  Andre  a 
very  large  part  of  the  praises  sure  to  follow  in  the  train  of 
Clinton's  triumph  ;  and  the  narrator's  animation,  as  he  painted 
the  means  by  which  he  should  have  conducted  his  detach 
ment,  was  not  disturbed  by  an  inquiry  as  to  the  rewards  in 
store  for  him.  Military  glory  was  all  he  sought,  was  his  re 
ply  :  the  applause  of  his  king  and  his  country  would  over 
pay  his  services ;  perhaps  a  brigadiership  might  be  bestowed. 
In  all  this  passage,  he  seems  to  have  been  free  from  appre 
hensions  as  to  his  ultimate  prospects.  It  was  not  until  he  had 
taken  horse  for  the  Clove  that  he  interrogated  his  companion 
and  keeper  in  regard  to  the  treatment  he  was  likely  to  re 
ceive  from  our  hands.  Tallmadge  candidly  reminded  him  of 
the  fate  of  his  own  classmale  and  friend,  Nathan  Hale.  "  Yes, 
he  was  hanged  as  a  spy,"  quoth  Andre :  "  but  surely  you  do 
not  consider  his  case  and  mine  alike  ?  "  "  They  are  precisely 
similar,  and  similar  will  be  your  fate,"  was  the  answer.  It 
shook  the  prisoner's  fortitude,  and  his  lively  discourse  was 
chilled.  The  friendly  offer  of  the  American  to  conceal  the 


342  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

deficiencies  of  his  toilet  by  the  loan  of  a  dragoon  cloak  was 
declined,  although  it  had  been  suggested  by  Andre's  own 
comments  upon  the  shabby  apparel  he  was  wearing ;  but 
Tallmadge's  urgency  at  length  procured  its  acceptance.  En 
veloped  in  its  folds,  he  came  into  our  quarters.* 

We  may  gather  from  Tallmadge's  reminiscences  that  till 
he  drew  near  Tappaan,  Andre  had  little  doubt  that  the 
Americans,  though  exasperated  at  what  had  occurred,  could 
not  fail  to  view  him  as  at  the  most  but  a  spy  in  appearance 
and  involuntarily  ;  that  beyond  some  personal  discomforts, 
he  had  nothing  to  fear.  The  ominous  warning  of  Tallmadge 
was  confirmed  by  the  general  order  issued  by  Greene  on  the 
26th,  when,  as  senior  officer  in  Washington's  absence,  IK; 
promulged  to  the  army  the  explanation  of  the  alarm  which 
had  resounded  through  the  camp. 

"Headquarters,  Orange  Town,  Sept.  26,  1780. — Treason 
of  the  blackest  dye  was  yesterday  discovered.  General  Ar 
nold,  who  commanded  at  West  Point,  lost  to  every  sentiment 
of  honour,  of  private  and  public  obligation,  was  about  to  de 
liver  that  important  post  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Such 
an  event  must  have  given  the  American  cause  a  deadly 
wound,  if  not  a  fatal  stab.  Happily  the  Treason  has  been 
timely  discovered  to  prevent  the  fatal  misfortune.  The 
Providential  train  of  circumstances  which  led  to  it  affords 
the  most  convincing  proofs  that  the  Liberties  of  America  are 
the  objects  of  Divine  Protection.  At  the  same  time  that  the 
Treason  is  to  be  regretted,  the  General  cannot  help  congrat 
ulating  the  army  in  the  happy  discovery.  Our  enemies 
despairing  of  carrying  their  point  by  force,  are  practising 
every  base  art  to  effect,  by  bribery  and  corruption,  what  they 
cannot  accomplish  in  a  manly  way.  Great  honour  is  due  to 
the  American  army  that  this  is  the  first  instance  of  Treason 
of  the  kind,  where  many  were  to  be  expected  from  the  na 
ture  of  the  dispute.  And  nothing  is  so  bright  an  ornament 

*  See  also  Tallmadge's  Letter  in  Appendix  Xo.  IV. 


CLINTON  TO  WASHINGTON.  343 

in  the  character  of  the  American  Soldiers  as  their  having 
been  proof  against  all  the  arts  and  seductions  of  an  insidious 
enemy. 

Arnold  has  made  his  escape  to  the  enemy,  but  Major  An 
dre,  the  Adjutant  General  of  the  British  Army,  who  came 
out  as  a  spy  to  negotiate  the  business,  is  our  prisoner.  His 
Excellency  the  Commander-in-Chief  has  arrived  at  West 
Point  from  Hartford,  and  is  no  doubt  taking  proper  meas 
ures  to  unravel  fully  so  hellish  a  plot. 

This  language  was  doubtless  communicated  to  Andre  by 
some  of  his  American  companions,  and  must  have  shocked 
his  anticipations  of  a  more  lenient  interpretation  of  his  char 
acter.  Meanwhile,  however,  his  friends  were  acting  with 
promptitude  in  the  line  their  sense  of  duty  dictated.  Ar 
nold's  letter  of  the  25th  to  Washington  had  not  touched  on 
Andre's  condition,  though  it  averred  the  innocence  of  his 
aides  and  of  Smith.  It  is  perhaps  therefore  not  unfair  to 
infer  that  at  the  moment  he  did  not  consider  the  prisoner  in 
peril  of  life.  Robinson  at  the  same  time  had  assured  Wash 
ington  that  Andre  was  so  covered  with  flags  and  safe-con 
ducts  that  even  to  arrest  him  was  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
war.  On  their  report,  Clinton  at  once  reclaimed  his  Adju 
tant-General,  enclosing  Arnold's  statement  of  the  case. 

CLINTON    TO    WASHINGTON. 

Neiv  York,  Sept.  26,  1780.  —  SIR:  Being  informed  that 
the  King's  Adjutant  Genl.  in  America  has  been  stopped  un 
der  Major  Genl.  Arnold's  passports,  and  is  detained  a  pris 
oner  in  your  Excellency's  army,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform 
you,  Sir,  that  I  permitted  Major  Andre  to  go  to  Major  Gen 
eral  Arnold,  at  the  particular  request  of  that  General  Officer  ; 
You  will  perceive,  Sir,  by  the  enclosed  paper,  that  a  Flag 
of  Truce  was  sent  to  receive  Major  Andre,  and  passports 
granted  for  his  return.  I  therefore  can  have  no  doubt  but 


344  LIFE   OF   MAJOR  ANDRE. 

your  Excellency  will  immediately  direct  that  this  officer  has 
permission  to  return  to  my  orders  in  New  York.  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  &c. 


ARNOLD    TO    CLINTON. 

New  York,  26  September,  1780.  —  SIR  :  In  answer  to  your 
Excellency's  message,  respecting  your  adjutant-general,  Ma 
jor  Andre,  and  desiring  my  idea  of  the  reasons  why  he  is 
detained,  being  under  my  -passports,  I  have  the  honor  to  in 
form  you,  Sir,  that  I  apprehend  a  few  hours  must  restore 
Major  Andre  to  your  Excellency's  orders,  as  that  officer  is 
assuredly  under  the  protection  of  a  flag  of  truce  sent  by  me 
to  him  for  the  purpose  of  a  conversation,  which  I  requested 
to  hold  with  him  relating  to  myself,  and  which  I  wished  to 
communicate  through  that,  officer  to  your  Excellency.  I 
commanded  at  the  time  at  West  Point,  had  an  undoubted 
right  to  send  my  flag  of  truce  for  Major  Andre,  who  came 
to  me  under  that  protection,  and,  having  held  my  conversa 
tion  with  him,  I  delivered  him  confidential  papers  in  my 
own  handwriting  to  deliver  to  your  Excellency ;  thinking  it 
much  properer  he  should  return  by  land,  I  directed  him  to 
make  use  of  the  feigned  name  of  John  Anderson,  under 
which  he  had,  by  my  direction,  come  on  shore,  and  gave  him 
my  passports  to  go  to  the  White  Plains  on  his  way  to  New 
York.  This  officer  therefore  cannot  fail  of  being  imme 
diately  sent  to  New  York,  as  he  was  invited  to  a  conversa 
tion  with  me,  for  which  I  sent  him  a  flag  of  truce,  and  finally 
gave  him  passports  for  his  safe  return  to  your  Excellency  ; 
all  of  which  I  had  then  a  right  to  do,  being  in  the  actual 
service  of  Amei'ica,  under  the  orders  of  General  Washing 
ton,  and  commanding  general  at  West  Point  and  its  depen 
dencies.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

To  these  communications  no  answer  was  at  present  given. 
Washington  was  not  perhaps  sorry  to  keep  the  enemy  in 


WASHINGTON  CONVENES  A  BOARD   OF  ENQUIRY.    345 

such  suspense  concerning  Andre's  fate,  as  would  afford  am 
ple  opportunity  of  preparing  for  a  vigorous  defence  of  West 
Point  ere  any  movement  against  it  should  be  undertaken. 
He  also  probably  wished  to  obtain  the  opinion  of  his  gen 
erals  before  he  replied.  Accordingly,  having  on  the  evening 
of  the  28th  repaired  to  camp,  he  caused  a  board  of  every 
general  officer  present  with  the  army  to  be  convened.* 
Smith  declares  the  general  impression  to  have  been  that  its 
object  was  rather  to  determine  once  for  all  the  limits  within 
which  a  flag  should  protect  its  bearer  —  for  there  had  been 
some  previous  difficulties  on  this  point  —  rather  than  to  de 
cide  on  Andre's  immediate  fate.  This  assertion  is  manifestly 
absurd.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  nothing  less 
was  designed  than  what  is  proved  by  the  record  :  and  be 
sides,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  from  the  beginning  Wash 
ington  had  apparently  made  up  his  own  mind  respecting  the 
prisoner's  character.  His  own  judgment  we  may  believe 
would  have  given  him  to  death  ;  but  with  the  caution  and 
wisdom  that  always  characterized  the  commander-in-chief, 
he  refrained  from  acting  in  so  serious  a  matter  until  he  had 
heard  the  best  opinions  at  his  disposal.  This  was  a  course 
of  which  justice  must  approve.  That  his  anger  should  now 
be  fearfully  roused  can  hardly  be  questioned.  The  very 
applause  which  was  bestowed  on  its  restraint  shows  its  force 
and  strength.  Long  after  his  death,  one  who  had  studied 
him  narrowly  observed  that  Washington's  "  temper  was  natu 
rally  irritable  and  high-toned,  but  reflection  and  resolution  had 
obtained  a  firm  and  habitual  ascendency  over  it.  If  ever, 
however,  it  broke  its  bounds,  he  was  most  tremendous  in  his 
wrath."  It  should  be  added  that  the  storm  seldom  rose 
without  good  cause  ;  and  never  was  there  greater  provoca 
tion  than  here.  The  thought  that  he  so  lono-  warmed  in  his 


*  So  it  is  authoritatively  stated :  yet  where  were  Wayne  and  Irvine  ? 
Perhaps  a  laudable  delicacy  restrained  these  gentlemen  from  deciding  on 
the  fate  of  an  enemy  whose  satire  had  so  latelv  been  personally  aimed  at 
themselves  in  The  Cow-Chase. 


34G  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

bosom  the  serpent  that  had  turned  to  sting  him  ;  the  dis 
agreeable  uncertainty  of  the  plot's  extent  ;  the  public  danger, 
and  the  damage  his  own  prestige  and  that  of  the  cause  might 
receive  in  Congress  and  with  the  French  ;  everything  com 
bined  to  incense  him.*  That  he  should  resolve  therefore,  if 
the  measure  accorded  as  well  with  the  sense  of  justice  of 
others  as  with  his  own,  to  make  such  an  example  in  this  case 
as  would  effectually  prevent  any  further  tampering  with  his 
subordinates,  is  as  natural  as  probable.  His  position  war 
rants  the  idea.  He  had  hazarded  everything —  life,  fortune, 
reputation,  domestic  happiness  —  on  the  risk  of  success  ;  and 
now  after  five  years  of  battling  it  out  with  the  public  enemy 
and  with  his  own,  at  a  moment  when  America  could  hardly 
stagger  along,  when  all  his  soul  was  bent  on  maintaining 
matters,  to  have  the  prize  snatched  at  in  this  underhand 
manner  was  too  much  for  human  endurance.  Had  he  not 
himself  deemed  Andre  a  spy  he  would  not,  in  my  opinion, 
have  summoned  the  board.  And  indeed  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  even  before  they  came  together,  some  of  our 
principal  generals  had  learned  enough  of  the  facts  of  the  case- 
to  satisfy  them  of  the  improbability  of  their  arriving  at  any 
other  conclusion  than  that  the  prisoner  was  an  undoubted 

spy.f 

On  Friday  then,  the  29th  September,  just  one  week  since 
he  had  started  from  Smith's  house  for  New  York,  Andre 
was  brought  before  the  tribunal.  It  was  assembled  in  an 
old  Dutch  church  at  Tappaan,  now  pulled  down,  and  con- 


*  The  correspondence  between  INI.  de  Ternay  and  the  Count  de  Ver- 
gennes  shows  how  seriously,  even  in  its  lopped  and  mutilated  state,  the 
plot  affected  the  opinions  and  estimates  of  our  allies.  The  party-heats  ot' 
Congress  were  unusually  violent  at  this  period,  and  its  committee  that  at 
tended  the  camp  was  falling  into  an  unpopularity  by  reason  of  the  tinc 
ture  of  "  army  principles  "  it  had  imbibed.  See  Sparks's  Wash.  vii.  -2-2(>, 
241. 

f  "  He  has  a  great  antipathy  to  spies,  although  he  employs  them  him 
self,  and  an  utter  aversion  to  all  Indians,"  Avas  written  of  Washington  in 
the  beginning  of  1780. 


ANDRE  BROUGHT  BEFORE  THE  TRIBUNAL.       347 

sisted  of  fourteen  officers,  of  whom  Greene  was  president. 
The  authority  of  the  meeting  was  first  read. 

Head- Quarters,  Tappan,  Sept.  23th,  1780.  —  GENTLE 
MEN  :  Major  Andre,  Adjutant  General  to  the  British  army 
will  be  brought  before  you  for  your  examination.  He  came 
within  our  lines  in  the  night  on  an  interview  with  Major 
General  Arnold,  and  in  an  assumed  character ;  and  was 
taken  within  our  lines,  in  a  disguised  habit,  with  a  pass  un 
der  a  feigned  name,  and  with  the  enclosed  papers  concealed 
upon  him.  After  a  careful  examination,  you  will  be  pleased, 
as  speedily  as  possible,  to  report  a  precise  state  of  his  case, 
together  with  your  opinion  of  the  light,  in  which  he  ought  to 
be  considered,  and  the  punishment  that  ought  to  be  inflicted. 
The  Judge  Advocate  will  attend  to  assist  in  the  examination, 
who  has  sundry  other  papers,  relative  to  this  matter,  which 
he  will  lay  before  the  Board.  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Gentlemen,  Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

G.  WASHINGTON. 

The  Board  of  General  Officers  convened  at  Tappan. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  task  of  composing  this  letter 
should  have  fallen  on  Hamilton,  between  whom  and  the 
prisoner  an  intercourse  almost  confidential  was  growing  up ; 
and  who,  says  La  Fayette,  "  was  daily  searching  some  way 
to  save  him."  And  whether  its  nature  was  that  of  an  indict 
ment  or  of  a  simple  statement  of  facts,  every  reader  will 
remark  that  its  opening  charge  that  Andre  entered  our  lines 
in  the  night  in  an  assumed  character  was  putting  a  very 
strong  construction  on  his  own  voluntary  admissions,  which 
were  all  the  evidence  on  the  point.  He  landed  without  our 
lines  as  Anderson :  here  his  rank  and  real  name  became 
known  to  Arnold ;  and  in  his  uniforn,  over  which  was  a  sur- 
tout  or  watchcoat,  he  was  unwitting  brought  by  Arnold 
within  the  lines.  No  one  else  but  the  sentry  who  challenged 
his  approach  seems  to  have  seen  him  from  the  time  of  his 


348  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

leaving  the  boat  to  his  arrival  at  Smith's  house  :  and  Arnold 
here  took  all  the  responsibility  of  reply.  Therefore  techni 
cally  at  least  Andre  might  have  urged  that  in  so  full  uniform 
as  officers  generally  wear  by  night,  and  with  his  name  and 
quality  fully  known  to  the  American  commander,  and  the 
only  American  officer  with  whom  he  had  thus  far  to  do,  he 
entered  our  lines.  Neither  does  it  seem  v  that  he  was  taken 
within  our  lines,  as  is  alleged  in  the  letter.  Tarry  town  was 
nearer  to  the  British  post  at  Kingsbridge  than  to  any  of 
ours.  The  remaining  statements  of  the  letter  are  exactly 
and  literally  true.* 

The  prisoner  was  now  called  to  listen  to  the  names  of  the 
officers  who  composed  the  board.  These  were  Major-Gene 
rals  Greene,  Stirling,  St.  Clair,  La  Fayette,  Howe,  and  Steu- 
ben  ;  Brigadiers  Parsons,  Clinton,  Knox,  Glover,  Patterson, 
Hand.  Huntington,  and  Starke.  Greene  was  president,  and 
John  Lawrence  the  Judge-advocate-general.  This  officer's 
share  in  the  proceedings  was  limited  to  the  preparation  of 

*  The  chief  authorities  for  the  Trial  are  the  Proceedings  of  the  Board  in 
the  original  manuscript,  and  also  as  published  by  Congress;  and  a  letter 
from  Hamilton  to  Sears.  The  first  was  sent  by  Washington  to  Congress, 
Oct.  7,  1780,  with  a  view  to  publication:  and  in  pamphlet  form  was  imme 
diately  and  widely  diffused.  In  this  country  the  observation,  appended  by 
Congress,  that  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  show  that  the  proceedings 
"  were  not  guided  by  passion  or  resentment  "  met  with  general  approval. 
In  England,  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  by  no  means  a  ministerial  journal, 
expressed  the  feelings  of  a  very  large  class  in  a  notice  of  the  publication. 
;>  The  above  account,  having  been  published  by  Congress,  it  may  without 
any  very  violent  strain  of  probability  be  conjectured  that  they  thought 
Gen.  Washington's  severity  to  Andre"  stood  in  need  of  some  ap  'logy.  How 
far  the  Congress  account  justifies  Gen.  Washington's  conduct  towards  the 
brave  Andre"  the  public  will  judge  for  themselves."  It  was  however  at 
Washington's  own  desire  that  the  account  was  printed. 

Hamilton  wrote  not  onlv  to  Sears,  but  to  Miss  Sehuvler  and  to  Laurens, 
and  the  details  he  gives  of  Andre's  deportment  during  the  trial  and  in  his 
confinement  are  very  interesting.  One  at  least  of  these  letters  seems  in 
tended  for  a  demi-publicity.  La  Fayette  describes  it  as  "a  masterpiece  of 
literary  talents  and  amiable  sen<ibilitv."  I  have  verified  the  Account  as 
given  by  Congress  bv  comparison  with  the  original  MSS.  preserved  at 
Washington,  and  have  corrected  some  of  its  errors. 


ANDRE'S   STATEMENT.  349 

the  case  on  behalf  of  government,  and  eliciting  the  facts  be 
fore  the  court.  He  was  a  native  of  Cornwall  in  England, 
and  by  admission  of  all  a  man  of  humanity  and  sensibility. 
His  age  was  about  Andre's  own,  and  his  whole  conduct 
evinced  his  sympathy  with  the  prisoner,  whom  he  warned 
of  the  peril  in  which  he  stood,  and  exhorted  to  preserve  his 
presence  of  mind  ;  to  be  cool  and  deliberate  in  his  answers ; 
and  to  except  freely  to  any  interrogatory  that  he  thought 
ambiguous.  He  promised  in  advance  that  any  such  should 
have  its  form  fairly  and  justly  altered.  Greene  also  advised 
him  that  he  was  free  to  answer  or  stand  mute  to  the  questions 
to  be  proposed,  and  cautioned  him  to  weigh  well  what  he  said. 
He  was  asked  if  he  confessed  or  denied  the  statements  of 
Washington's  letter  to  the  board.  In  reply,  he  acknowledged 
as  his  own  the  letter  to  Washington  of  September  24th  which 
the  Judge-advocate  had  put  in  evidence,  and  furthermore 
submitted  this  additional  paper  that  he  had  drawn  up. 


ANDRE'S   STATEMENT. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  I  left  New  York  to  get  on  board 
the  Vulture,  in  order  (as  I  thought)  to  meet  General  Arnold 
there  in  the  night.  No  boat,  however,  came  off,  and  I  waited 
on  board  until  the  night  of  the  21st.  During  the  day,  a  flag 
of  truce  was  sent  from  the  Vulture  to  complain  of  the  viola 
tion  of  a  military  rule  in  the  instance  of  a  boat  having  been 
decoyed  on  shore  by  a  flag,  and  fired  upon.  The  letter  was 
addressed  to  General  Arnold,  signed  by  Captain  Sutherland, 
but  written  in  my  hand  and  countersigned  "  J.  Anderson,  Sec 
retary."  Its  intent  was  to  indicate  my  presence  on  board  the 

Vulture.     In  the  night  of  the  21st  a  boat  with  Mr. and 

two  hands  came  on  board,  in  order  to  fetch  Mr.  Anderson  on 
shore,  and  if  too  late  to  bring  me  back,  to  lodge  me  until  the 
next  night  in  a  place  of  safety.  I  went  into  the  boat,  landed, 
and  spoke  with  Arnold.  I  got  on  horseback  with  him  to 


350  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

proceed  to  house,  and  in  the  way  passed  a  guard  I  did 

not  expect  to  see,  having  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  directions  not 
to  go  within  an  enemy's  post,  or  to  quit  my  own  dress. 

In  the  morning  A.  quitted  me,  having  himself  made  me 
put  the  papers  I  bore  between  my  stockings  and  feet.  Whilst 
he  did  it,  he  expressed  a  wish  that  in  case  of  any  accident 
befalling  me,  that  they  should  be  destroyed,  which  I  said,  of 
course  would  be  the  case,  as  when  I  went  into  the  boat  I 
should  have  them  tied  about  with  a  string  and  a  stone.  Be 
fore  we  parted,  some  mention  had  been  made  of  my  crossing 
the  river,  and  going  by  another  route  ;  but,  I  objected  much 
against  it,  and  thought  it  was  settled  that  in  the  way  I 
came  I  was  also  to  return. 

Mr.  —  —  to  my  great  mortification  persisted  in  his  deter 
mination  of  carrying  me  by  the  other  route  ;  and,  at  the  de 
cline  of  the  sun,  I  set  out  on  horseback,  passed  King's  Ferry, 
and  came  to  Crornpond,  where  a  party  of  militia'  stopped  us 
and  advised  we  should  remain.  In  the  morning  I  came  with 

—  as  far  as  within  two  miles  and  a  half  of  Pine's  Bridge1, 
where  he  said  he  must  part  with  me,  as  the  Cow-boys  infest 
ed  the  road  thenceforward.  I  was  now  near  thirty  miles 
from  Kingsbridge,  and  left  to  the  chance  of  passing  that 
space  undiscovered.  I  got  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Tarry- 
town,  which  was  far  beyond  the  points  described  as  danger 
ous,  when  I  was  taken  by  three  volunteers,  who,  not  satisfied 
with  my  pass,  rifled  me,  and,  finding  papers,  made  me  a 
prisoner. 

I  have  omitted  mentioning,  that,  when  I  found  myself 
within  an  enemy's  posts,  I  changed  my  dress. 

The  Proceedings  as  published  by  Congress,  being  rather 
a  manifesto  than  a  report  of  the  trial,  makes  no  mention  of 
this  Statement.  It  gives  however  what  is  doubtless  designed 
for  an  abstract  of  its  contents  and  of  his  oral  replies  to  inter 
rogations.  The  italics  are  from  the  pamphlet. 

— "  That  he   came  on   shore  from  the  Vulture  sloop-of- 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COURT.  351 

war  in  the  night  of  the  21st  September  inst.,  somewhere  un 
der  the  Haverstraw  mountain.  That  the  boat  he  came  on 
shore  in  carried  no  flag,  and  that  he  had  on  a  surtout  coat 
over  his  regimentals,  and  that  he  wore  his  surtout  coat  when 
he  was  taken.  That  he  met  Gen.  Arnold  on  the  shore,  and 
had  an  interview  with  him  there.  He  also  said  that  when 
he  left  the  Vulture  sloop-of-war,  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  to  return  that  night ;  but  it  was  then  doubted,  and  if  he 
could  not  return  he  was  promised  to  be  concealed  on  shore, 
in  a  place  of  safety,  until  the  next  night,  when  he  was  to 
return  in  the  same  manner  he  came  on  shore  ;  and  when  the 
next  day  came  he  was  solicitous  to  get  back,  and  made  en 
quiries  in  the  course  of  the  day,  how  he  should  return,  when 
he  was  informed  he  could  not  return  that  way,  and  must  take 
the  rout  he  did  afterwards.  He  also  said  that  the  first  notice 
he  had  of  his  being  within  any  of  our  outposts  was,  being 
challenged  by  the  sentry,  which  was  the  first  night  he  was 
on  shore.  He  also  said,  that  the  evening  of  the  22d  of  Sep 
tember  inst.,  he  passed  King's  Ferry,  between  our  posts  of 
Stony  and  Verplanctis  Points,  in  the  dress  he  is  at  present  in, 
and  which  he  said  is  not  his  regimentals,  and  which  dress  he 
procured  after  he  landed  from  the  Vulture,  and  when  he  was 
within  our  posts,  and  that  he  was  proceeding  to  New- York, 
but  was  taken  on  his  wray,  at  Tarry-town,  as  he  has  men 
tioned  in  his  letter,  on  Saturday  the  23d  of  September  inst. 
about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

The  six  papers  from  Arnold  being  produced,  he  acknowl 
edged  they  were  found  in  his  boots :  the  pass  to  John  Ander 
son  was  also  owned,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  assumed  that 
name.  Anderson's  letter  to  Sheldon  of  September  7th  (ante, 
page  262)  was  also  read.  He  avowed  himself  its  author;  but 
though  it  went  to  prove  his  intention  not  to  enter  our  lines, 
he  observed  that  it  could  not  affect  the  present  case,  as  he 
wrote  it  in  New  York  under  Clinton's  orders. 

"  The  Board  having  interrogated  Major  Andre  about  his 
conception  of  his  coming  on  shore  under  the  sanction  of  a 


352  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

flag,  he  said,  That  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  suppose  he 
came  on  shore  under  that  sanction,  and  added,  That  if  he 
came  on  shore  under  that  sanction,  he  certainly  might  have 
returned  under  it. 

"  Major  Andre  having  acknowledged  the  preceding  facts, 
and  being  asked  whether  he  had  anything  to  say  respecting 
them,  answered,  He  left  them  to  operate  with  the  Board." 

It  was  probably  in  connection  with  this  point  of  a  flag  that 
Greene  asked  the  question :  —  "  When  you  came  on  shore 
from  the  Vulture,  Major  Andre,  and  met  General  Arnold, 
did  you  consider  yourself  acting  as  a  private  individual,  or  as 
a  British  officer  ?  "  "I  wore  my  uniform,"  was  the  reply, 
and  undoubtedly  esteemed  myself  to  be  what  indeed  I  was, 
a  British  officer."  It  will  be  recollected  that  it  was  not  as 
an  officer  he  was  acting  and  clad  when  he  was  arrested.* 

His  personal  examination  was  now  concluded,  and  the 
prisoner  being  remanded  into  custody,  the  board  considered 
Arnold's  and  Robinson's  letters  of  the  25th,  and  Clinton's 
(with  Arnold's  statement  enclosed)  of  the  26th  September  to 
Washington.  Of  their  contents — or  indeed  of  their  exist 
ence  —  it  does  not  appear  that  Andre  was  apprised  :  nor  was 
it  necessary  that  he  should  be.  No  other  testimony  was  pre 
sented,  nor  indeed  was  there  any  more  in  the  power  of  the 
board  to  adduce  save  that  of  Smith  and  the  boatmen.  The 
first  was  in  custody ;  and  as  his  preliminary  examination  by 
Washington  was  in  the  presence  of  La  Fayette  and  Knox, 
who  were  of  the  board,  as  well  as  of  Hamilton  and  Harrison 
who  were  not,  they  knew  what  he  could  say  respecting  Andre's 
coming  ashore  from  the  Vulture.  By  their  evidence  after 
wards,  on  his  own  trial,  this  briefly  amounted  to  the  assevera 
tion  that  he  went  to  the  Vulture  by  Arnold's  direction  with  a 
flag  which,  despite  the  darkness  of  the  night,  he  thought  a 
sufficient  protection  ;  that  he  brought  away  Andre  in  his  uni 
form,  which  was  not  laid  aside  till  the  next  day ;  and  that  the 

*  I  have  this  anecdote  from  Mr.  Sparks,  who  received  it  from  La  Fay 
ette  himself. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  COURT.  353 

prisoner  came  to  land  under  the  assumed  name  of  Anderson. 
The  boatmen  could  only  say  that  they  were  under  the  im 
pression  they  were  asked  beforehand  to  go  with  a  flag.  This 
testimony  is  not  of  much  importance,  though  it  shows  that 
some  persons  at  that  day  considered  a  safe-conduct  and  a  flag 
identical. 

To  these  details  of  what  passed  before  and  in  the  board,  but 
a  passage  or  two  more  can  be  added.  It  is  recorded  that  An 
dre  was  profoundly  sensible  of  the  liberal  and  polite  behavior 
that  he  met  with  from  the  Court,  and  warmly  avowed  his 
sense  of  their  generous  treatment.  "  I  flatter  myself,"  he 
said  when  the  examination  was  over,  "  that  I  have  never 
been  illiberal,  but  if  there  were  any  remains  of  prejudice  in 
my  mind,  my  present  experience  must  obliterate  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  his  own  deportment  was  composed  and  dig 
nified  ;  his  answers  open,  clear,  and  to  the  point,  and  free 
from  all  argumentative  insinuation.  Their  frank  ingenuous 
ness  is  testified  to  by  Hamilton,  who  says  his  confession  was 
so  full  that  the  board  condemned  him  on  it  without  calling  a 
witness.  His  only  reserve  was  in  regard  to  others ;  in  all  that 
he  said,  he  avowed  his  carefulness  to  avoid  everything  that 
could  involve  any  one  else,  even  shunning  to  mention  names. 
Thus  when  Greene  referred  to  his  meeting  Arnold  at  Smith's 
house  —  "I  said  a  house,  sir,  but  I  did  not  say  whose  house ! " 
exclaimed  Andre.  "  True,"  replied  Greene ;  "  nor  have  we 
any  right  to  demand  this  of  you  after  the  conditions  we  have 
allowed." 

Though  there  is  nothing  in  the  published  Proceedings  to 
show  that  the  prisoner  endeavored  to  prove  himself  not  a 
spy,  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  took  that  ground  before  the 
board.  Smith's  affirmation  that  he  did  may  be  passed  by ; 
his  comment  on  his  own  letter  to  Sheldon  and  the  tone  of  his 
written  statements  lead  to  the  belief  that  he  upheld  himself 
to  have  been  involuntarily,  and  without  anything  beyond  ap 
parent  guilt,  forced  into  that  category. 

When  all  the  evidence  before  them  was  put  in  and  consid- 
23 


354  LIFE  OP   MAJOR  ANDK6. 

ered,  the  board  proceeded  to  collect  its  voices.  La  Fayette  is 
authority  for  pronouncing  the  decision  unanimous  ;  and  though 
Smith  alleges  that  neither  Steuben  nor  Howe  approved  it, 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe  him  as  incorrect  here  as  in 
other  places.  It  is  probable,  let  us  hope,  that  La  Fayette 
himself  was  equally  astray  when,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1825, 
at  his  mansion  in  Paris,  he  assured  the  son  of  an  officer  who 
had  been  peculiarly  associated  with  Andre's  closing  scenes, 
in  reference  to  the  action  of  the  board,  —  "  that  it  was  a  pain 
ful  duty,  in  consideration  of  the  gallantry  and  accomplish 
ments  of  that  officer,  but  the  court  was  impelled  not  only  by 
the  rules  of  war  but  by  the  example  of  the  British  army 
itself,  in  the  execution  of  Captain  Hale  on  Long  Island  for  a 
similar  offence,  to  pass  a  like  judgment."  This  consideration 
I  cannot  believe  at  all  influenced  the  determination  of  the 
board;  nor  will  I  willingly  admit  that  La  Fayette  himself 
was  governed  by  it  in  giving  his  vote.  Their  enemies  have 
indeed  said,  doubtless  untruly,  that  he  and  Greene  being 
personally  hostile  to  Arnold  were  the  warmest  advocates  for 
Andre's  condemnation:  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  his  compan 
ions  were  not  all  as  prompt  as  himself  in  coming  to  a  conclu 
sion.  "  Some  of  the  American  generals  too,"  he  wrote  to  his 
wife,  "  lamented,  while  they  kept  twisting  the  rope  that  was  to 
hang  him."  But  a  moment's  reflection  will  show  how  great  a 
wrong  is  worked  to  the  character  of  our  leaders  by  the  impu 
tation  of  such  a  motive.  Hale  was  a  man  whose  disposition 
and  whose  fate  indeed  resembled  Andre's  ;  but  whose  case  in 
its  characteristics  was  widely  dissimilar.  In  fulfilment  of 
Washington's  desires  and  with  the  purest  intentions  of  serv 
ing  his  country,  he  premeditatedly  entered  the  British  lines 
as  a  spy,  and  was  detected..  His  own  kinsman  betrayed  him, 
and  he  was  arrested  while  yet  the  embers  smouldered  of  the 
great  fire  of  the  21st  of  September,  1776,  and  in  the  height 
of  the  excitement  that  this  unjustifiable  conflagration  occa 
sioned  among  the  British.  He  was  instantly  hanged  by 
order  of  Sir  William  Howe  ;  and  the  circumstances  of  his 


ANDR£  SENTENCED  TO  DEATH.  355 

execution  reflect  disgrace  upon  the  English  arms.  But  even 
had  his  case  in  every  particular  been  parallel  with  Andre's, 
it  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  fully  four  years  had  elapsed 
since  its  occurrence.  The  English  were  now  under  another 
chief  who,  as  was  well  known,  had  carefully  avoided  putting 
to  death  those  over  whose  lives  the  laws  of  war  gave  him 
control ;  and  who  but  recently  had  given  up  an  acknowl 
edged  spy  to  Washington's  intercessions.  And  in  any  case 
it  is  certain  that  our  people  had  hanged  persons  of  that  char 
acter  in  sufficient  numbers  since  Hale's  death  to  satisfy  every 
demand  of  retaliation.*  Had  the  lex  talionis  therefore  at  all 
been  presented  for  a  principle  of  action  to  our  generals,  it 
would  undoubtedly  have  at  once  been  set  aside.  That  there 
was  anger  in  their  hearts  is  not  improbable ;  that  their  verdict 
was  consciously  influenced  by  it  or  any  other  motive  than  a 
simple  disposition  to  decide  the  case  before  them  on  its  indi 
vidual  merits  should  not  be  questioned.  They  may  indeed 
have  felt,  when  they  looked  on  the  prisoner,  what  the  great 
Pharaoh  in  the  Arabian  tale  expresses :  —  "  men  are  not  to 
be  reckoned  as  we  reckon  animals ;  one  camel  is»worth  no 
more  than  another,  but  the  man  who  is  before  me  is  worth  an 
army."  But  this  very  reflection  could  only  warn  them  to 
more  scrupulously  mete  no  other  sentence  than  the  law 
awarded.  This"  sentence  appears  in  the  concluding  para 
graph  of  the  report,  which  was  signed  by  every  member  of 
the  board. 

"  The  Board  having  considered  the  letter  from  his  Excel 
lency  General  Washington  respecting  Major  Andre,  Adjutant 

*  In  hurriedly  glancing  over  Thacher's  Military  Journal,  I  see  recorded 
in  this  single  volume  the  executions  of  no  less  than  eight  British  spies  be 
tween  the  dates  of  Hale's  death  and  Andre's.  The  fate  of  one  who  was 
reclaimed  by  Tryon,  is  characteristically  set  forth  in  Putnam's  reply.  — 
"  Sir:  Xathan  Palmer,  a  lieutenant  in  your  king's  service,  was  taken  in  my 
camp  as  a  spy,  —  he  was  tried  as  a  spy,  —  he  was  condemned  as  a  spy,  —  and 
you  may  rest  assured,  Sir,  that  he  shall  be  hanged  as  a  spy,  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  &c.,  Israel  Putnam.  P.  S.  Afternoon,  he  is  hanged." 


356  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR& 

General  to  the  British  army,  the  Confession  of  Major  Andre. 
and  the  papers  produced  to  them,  REPORT  to  His  Excellency 
the  Commander  in  Chief  the  following  facts  which  appear  tc 
them  concerning  Major  Andre. 

"  First,  That  he  came  on  shore  from  the  Vulture  sloop  of 
war,  in  the  night  of  the  21st  of  September  inst.  on  an  inter 
view  with  General  Arnold,  in  a  private  and  secret  manner. 

"  Secondly,  That  he  changed  his  dress  within  our  lines,  ana 
under  a  feigned  name,  and  in  a  disguised  habit,  passed  oui 
works  at  Stoney  and  Verplantts  Points  the  evening  of  the- 
22d  of  September  inst.  and  was  taken  the  morning  of  the 
23d  of  September  inst.  at  Tarry  Town,  in  a  disguised  habit. 
being  then  on  his  way  to  New-York,  and,  when  taken,  he  hac 
in  his  possession  several  papers,  which  contained  intelligence 
for  the  enemy. 

"  The  Board  having  maturely  considered  these  facts,  Do 
ALSO  REPORT  to  His  Excellency  General  Washington,  thai 
Major  Andre,  Adjutant  General  to  the  British  Army,  oughi 
to  be  considered  as  a  Spy  from  the  enemy  ;  and  that,  agree 
able  to  the  law  and  usage  of  nations,  it  is  their  opinion  he 
ought  to  suffer  death." 

The  day  was  probably  well  advanced  ere  this  report  was 
prepared.  On  the  next,  it  received  Washington's  sanction. 

Head  Quarters,  September  80th,  1 780.  —  The  Comman 
der  in  Chief  approves  of  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  Gen 
eral  Officers,  respecting  Major  Andre,  and  orders  that  the 
execution  of  Major  Andre  take  place  to-morrow,  at  five 
o'clock,  P.  M. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Andre's  Deportment  after  the  Death-TVarrant.  —  Letters  to  Clinton,  and 
between  Washington  and  the  British  Generals.  —  Plans  for  substituting 
Arnold  for  Andre*.  —  The  Execution  delayed. 

As  yet  it  would  seem  that  an  answer  had  been  given 
neither  to  Andre's  request  of  the  24th  September  for  per 
mission  to  apply  for  necessary  apparel  and  linen  and  to 
forward  an  open  letter  to  Clinton,  nor  to  that  general's  com 
munication  of  the  26th.  The  latter  delay  was  probably 
occasioned  by  a  wish  to  obtain  the  decision  of  the  Court  of 
Enquiry,  and,  perhaps,  to  ascertain  the  inclinations  of  Con 
gress.  Greene  had  swiftly  transmitted  the  first  intelligence 
of  Arnold's  conduct :  and  on  the  30th,  Washington's  letter 
of  the  26th  was  received  by  that  body.  Marbois  says  that 
the  Chief  privately  sought  its  desires  in  the  present  contin 
gency,  and  that  although  there  was  no  public  debate,  it  was 
informally  determined  not  to  interfere  with  the  judgment  of 
the  military  tribunal. 

The  interest  and  even  attachment  which  the  prisoner's 
condition  and  character  had  already  inspired  in  the  feelings 
of  many  of  our  officers  has  been  previously  noticed.  Among 
those  whose  rank  more  nearly  approaching  his  own  rendered 
intercourse  less  restrained  and  embarrassing,  Hamilton  stood 
first.  He  was  then  but  about  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
and  his  grade  and  disposition,  and  his  relations  to  the  Amer 
ican  leader,  were  not  unlike  those  that  Andre  had  filled  in 
another  sphere.  In  laudable  ambition,  too,  and  in  natural 
gifts  as  well  as  accomplishments,  there  was  much  in  common 
between  the  two  ;  and  the  very  jests  that  one  had  offered  at 
the  other's  expense  were  an  additional  incitement  to  personal 


358  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

kindnesses  that  should  wipe  away  the  inconsiderate  levity  of 
The  Cow-Chase.  From  the  moment  that  the  captive  was 
brought  in,  there  was  a  constant  exercise  of  Hamilton's  good- 
offices.  On  a  former  occasion  his  friend,  Major  William 
Jackson,  had  received  much  civility  from  Andre ;  and  to  him 
Hamilton  repaired.  "  Major  Jackson,"  he  said,  "  I  have 
learned  that  Andre  was  very  kind  to  you  when  you  were  a 
prisoner.  Will  you  not  now  visit  him  ?  "  The  suggestion 
was  unnecessary,  for  no  man  was  better  endowed  than  Jack 
son  with  those  kindly  feelings  which  not  less  than  the  sterner 
traits  characterize  an  accomplished  soldier;  but  the  story 
shows  the  zeal  with  which  Hamilton  in  befriending  Andre, 
while  he  sought  to  direct  indignation  against  Arnold  was 
careful  to  provoke  compassion  towards  his  unfortunate  co 
adjutor.  Nor  is  it  strange  that  he  who  esteemed  Julius 
Cassar  as  the  greatest  of  humankind,  was  drawn  towards  a 
man  whose  character  also  exhibited  "  the  commanding  supe 
riority  of  soul,  the  generous  clemency,  and  the  various  genius 
which  could  reconcile  and  unite  the  love  of  pleasure,  the 
thirst  of  knowledge,  and  the  fire  of  ambition."  Such  we  are 
told  were  Ceesar's  qualities :  such  in  a  minor  scale  were  An 
dre's.  Nor  was  Jackson's  a  solitary  case  :  there  were  sev 
eral  in  our  army  who  had  in  confinement  received  substantial 
proof's  of  Andre's  goodness  :  and  these  were  not  now  want 
ing  in  showing  him  civilities. 

During  the  brief  hours  of  life  that  remained,  Hamilton  was 
in  constant  intercourse  with  him  :  and  it  was  apparently  im 
mediately  on  his  being  withdrawn  from  the  presence  of  the 
board  that  he  endeavored  to  procure  through  the  influence 
of  his  friend,  what  he  had  himself  asked  for  some  days  be 
fore.  His  doom  was  indeed  not  yet  pronounced,  but  he  must 
have  perceived  the  tendency  of  the  current  that  was  flowing 
so  strongly  towards  the  grave ;  and  in  the  very  tenderness  of 
his  treatment  by  those  in  whose  guard  he  slept  and  waked, 
he  could  not  but  have  recognized  the  impulse  to  make  his 
remaining  hours  as  easy  as  possible,  since  they  were  to  be  so 


ANDRE'S  DEPORTMENT  AFTER  THE  DEATH-WARRANT.   359 

very  few  and  full  of  trouble.  But  the  attachment  between  Clin 
ton  and  himself  was  firm  and  reciprocal.  Sir  Henry  avowed, 
years  afterward,  that  he  had  not  forgotten  nor  could  ever 
cease  to -lament  his  fate  and  his  worth;  and  Andre  during 
his  imprisonment  spoke  of  his  patron  as  a  child  might  speak 
of  a  tender  father.*  Now,  when  the  prospect  of  death  was 
imminent,  he  thought  of  a  possible  future  pang  that  might 
occur  to  his  friend,  and  he  sought  to  avert  it  by  a  renewal 
of  the  petition  which  on  his  own  score  merely,  his  wounded 
sensibilities  would  perhaps  have  not  again  permitted  him  to 
advert  to.  He  repeated  to  Hamilton  his  desire  to  write  to 
his  commander. 

"  In  one  of  the  visits  I  made  to  him,  (and  I  saw  him  several 
times  during  his  confinement,)  he  begged  me  to  be  the  bearer 
of  a  request  to  the  general,  for  permission  to  send  an  open 
letter  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  '  I  foresee  my  fate,  (said  he,) 
and  though  I  pretend  not  to  play  the  hero,  or  to  be  indiffer 
ent  about  life,  yet  I  am  reconciled  to  whatever  may  happen, 
conscious  that  misfortune,  not  guilt,  will  have  brought  it  upon 
me.  There  is  only  one  thing  that  disturbs  my  tranquillity. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  has  been  too  good  to  me  ;  he  has  been 
lavish  of  his  kindness.  I  am  bound  to  him  by  too  many 
obligations,  and  love  him  too  well,  to  bear  the  thought  that 
he  should  reproach  himself,  or  that  others  should  reproach 
him,  on  a  supposition  that  I  had  conceived  myself  bound  by 
his  instructions  to  run  the  risk  I  did.  I  would  not  for  the 
world  leave  a  sting  that  should  embitter  his  future  days.' 
He  could  scarce  finish  the  sentence,  bursting  into  tears  in 
spite  of  his  efforts  to  suppress  them,  and  with  difficulty  col- 

*  Mr.  Cooper  says,  "  It  is  certain  he  always  spoke  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
(the  English  commander-in-chief )  with  the  affection  and  confidence  of  a 
child,  until  he  received  his  last  letter,  which  he  read  in  much  agitation, 
thrust  into  his  pocket,  and  never  afterwards  mentioned  his  general's  name." 
—  Trav.  Bach.  i.  221.  This  is  the  only  intimation  that  exists  of  his  receiv 
ing  any  letter  from  Sir  Henry  during  his  confinement:  and  I  do  not  be 
lieve  one  word  of  that  part  of  the  anecdote.  It  is  probable,  if  Mr.  Cooper 
got  it  from  La  Fayette  (which  is  not  declared)  that  the  latter  was  forgetful. 


360  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    AXDRE. 

lected  himself  enough  afterwards  to  add,  '  I  wish  to  be  per 
mitted  to  assure  him  I  did  not  act  under  this  impression,  but 
submitted  to  a  necessity  imposed  upon  me,  as  contrary  to  my 
own  inclination  as  to  his  orders.'  " 

Hamilton  found  little  difficulty  now  in  obtaining  the  re 
quired  permission ;  and  the  letter  was  at  once  written.  It 
must  have  been  sent  unsealed  to  head-quarters,  and  copied 
ere  it  left  our  camp :  its  contents  were  known  through  the 
army  before  the  author  was  hanged.  This  was  certainly  in 
ill-taste.  It  was  just  that  precautions  should  be  used  to  pre 
vent  communications  with  the  enemy  prejudicial  to  our  in 
terests  ;  but  worded  as  it  was,  the  language  of  the  document 
should  never  have  passed  the  walls  of  the  general's  marquee. 
It  was  enough  to  satisfy  justice  that  the  writer's  body  should 
swing  from  a  gibbet :  there  was  no  necessity  of  exposing  to 
the  gloating  eye  of  all  the  world  the  secret  agonies  of  his 
soul. 

ANDRE    TO    CLINTON. 

TAPPAN,  29  September,  1780. 

SIR,  —  Your  Excellency  is  doubtless  already  apprized  of 
the  manner  in  which  I  was  taken,  and  possibly  of  the  serious 
light  in  which  my  conduct  is  considered,  and  the  rigorous 
determination  that  is  impending. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  have  obtained  General 
Washington's  permission  to  send  you  this  letter ;  the  object 
of  which  is,  to  remove  from  your  breast  any  suspicion  that 
I  could  imagine  I  was  bound  by  your  Excellency's  orders  to 
expose  myself  to  what  has  happened.  The  events  of  coming 
within  an  enemy's  posts,  and  of  changing  my  dress,  which 
led  me  to  my  present  situation,  were  contrary  to  my  own  in 
tentions,  as  they  were  to  your  orders ;  and  the  circuitous 
route,  which  I  took  to  return,  was  imposed  (perhaps  unavoid 
ably)  without  alternative  upon  me. 

I  am  perfectly   tranquil  in  mind,  and  prepared  for  any 


ROBERTSON  TO  WASHINGTON.  361 

fate,  to  which  an  honest  zeal  for  my  King's  service  may  have 
devoted  me. 

In  addressing  myself  to  your  Excellency  on  this  occasion, 
the  force  of  all  my  obligations  to  you,  and  of  the  attachment 
and  gratitude  I  bear  you,  recurs  to  me.  With  all  the 
warmth  of  my  heart,  I  give  you  thanks  for  your  Excel 
lency's  profuse  kindness  to  me  ;  and  I  send  you  the  most 
earnest  wishes  for  your  welfare,  which  a  faithful,  affection 
ate,  and  respectful  attendant  can  frame. 

I  have  a  mother  and  three  sisters,  to  whom  the  value  of 
my  commission  would  be  an  object,  as  the  loss  of  Granada  has 
much  affected  their  income.  It  is  needless  to  be  more  ex 
plicit  on  this  subject ;  I  am  persuaded  of  your  Excellency's 
goodness. 

I  receive  the  greatest  attention  from  his  Excellency  Gen 
eral  Washington,  and  from  every  person  under  whose  charge 
I  happen  to  be  placed.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  With  the 
most  respectful  attachment,  Your  Excellency's  most  obedient, 
and  most  humble  servant, 

JOHN  ANDRE,  Adjutant-General. 

His  Excellency  General  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  K.  B.  &c. 
&c.  &c. 

On  the  same  day  General  Robertson  had  addressed  a  let 
ter  to  our  camp,  reiterating  the  reclamation  of  Andre. 


ROBERTSON    TO    WASHINGTON. 

New  York,  29  September,  1780.  —  SIR  :  Persuaded  that 
you  are  inclined  rather  to  promote  than  prevent  the  civilities 
and  acts  of  humanity,  which  the  rules  of  war  permit  between 
civilized  nations,  I  find  no  difficulty  in  representing  to  you, 
that  several  letters  and  messages  sent  from  hence  have  been 
disregarded,  are  unanswered,  and  the  flags  of  truce  that  car 
ried  them  detained.  As  I  ever  have  treated  all  flags  of 


362  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

truce  with  civility  and  respect,  I  have  a  right  to  hope  that 
you  will  order  my  complaint  to  be  immediately  redressed. 

Major  Andre,  who  visited  an  officer  commanding  in  a 
district,  at  his  own  desire,  and  acted  in  every  circumstance 
agreeably  to  his  direction,  I  find  is  detained  a  prisoner.  My 
friendship  for  him  leads  me  to  fear  he  may  suffer  some 
inconvenience  for  want  of  necessaries.  I  wish  to  be  allowed 
to  send  him  a  few,  and  shall  take  it  as  a  favor  if  you  will  be 
pleased  to  permit  his  servant  to  deliver  them.  In  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  absence  it  becomes  a  part  of  my  duty  to  make  this 
representation  and  request.  I  am,  Sir,  &c. 

This  letter  must  have  arrived  early  on  the  30th,  and  with 
it  came  the  servant,  Peter  Laune,  bringing  the  much  wanted 
necessaries  of  the  toilet.  Washington  with  his  aides  and 
some  guards  being  on  the  spot  when  the  flag  landed,  saw  the 
luggage  searched,  and  then  bade  a  soldier  conduct  the  man 
to  his  master ;  whom  he  found  "  confined  in  a  room,  but  not 
in  fetters,  under  a  strong  guard,  with  double  centinels,  and 
two  rebel  officers  in  the  room  on  duty."  The  returning  flag 
bore  back  this  reply  :  — 


WASHINGTON   TO    ROBERTSON. 

Tappan,  Sept.  30,  1780.  —  SIR:  I  have  just  received 
your  letter  of  the  29th  instant.  Any  delay  which  may  have 
attended  your  flags,  has  proceeded  from  accident  and  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  occasion  ;  not  from  intentional 
neglect  or  violation.  The  letter,  which  admitted  of  an  an 
swer,  has  received  one  as  early  as  it  could  be  given  with 
propriety,  transmitted  by  a  flag  this  morning.  As  to  mes 
sages,  I  am  uninformed  of  any  that  have  been  sent.  The 
necessaries  for  Major  Andre  will  be  delivered  to  him  agree 
able  to  your  request.  I  am,  Sir,  &c. 

Andre's  condition  was  not  yet  so  desperate  as  to  shut  out 


ANDRE'S  CONDITION.  363 

every  hope  of  saving  him.  Mr.  Sparks  says  that  Washing 
ton  was  very  anxious  to  do  so  :  but  a  victim  —  and  an  emi 
nent  one  —  was  demanded.  The  magnitude  of  the  affront 
called  for  a  commensurate  expiation,  and  there  was  but  one 
person  who  could  be  substituted  in  the  prisoner's  stead. 
The  unanimous  approval  bestowed  by  the  army  and  the 
nation  on  Andre's  execution,  though  accompanied  with  un- 
repressed  regret  for  its  cruel  necessity,  arose  from  this  con 
viction.  None  could  tell  where  the  treason  was  to  end :  and 
though  as  it  turned  out  no  others  were  involved,  yet  at  the 
moment,  so  far  from  being  assured  upon  that  point,  the  army's 
confidence  was  shaken  in  various  quarters,  and  Washington 
himself  is  seen  privately  investigating  the  suspicions  that  point 
ed  to  the  uppermost  grades  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry  itself.  The 
only  security  was  to  act  promptly  and  with  such  decision  as 
should  effectually  deter  others  from  a  like  offence.  We  all 
recollect  Robinson  Crusoe's  dealings  with  the  birds  in  his 
cornfield.  He  might  drive  them  away  as  often  as  he  would ; 
but  no  sooner  was  his  back  turned  than  their  plundering  was 
resumed :  u  I  could  easily  see  the  thieves  sitting  upon  all  the 
trees  about  me,  as  if  they  only  waited  till  I  was  gone  away, 
and  the  event  proved  it  to  be  so."  But  when  he  hung  a  few 
of  the  marauders  in  chains  and  left  them  dangling  in  ter- 
rorem,  it  so  disgusted  their  surviving  comrades  that  ever 
after  they  shunned  the  spot  in  holy  horror.  So  it  was  now 
with  our  troops,  who  feared  that  the  next  attempt  at  seduction 
or  betrayal  would  terminate  less  fortunately.  But  there  is 
no  question  that  Arnold's  death  would  have  been  more  grate 
ful  than  Andre's  ;  though  as  Laurens  justly  suggested,  "  ex 
ample  will  derive  new  force  from  his  conspicuous  character." 
Hamilton,  soon  after  the  latter's  execution,  summed  up  the 
dilemma  :  "  There  was  in  truth  no  way  of  saving  him. 
Arnold  or  he  must  have  been  the  victim  ;  the  former  was 
out  of  our  power." 

There  were  two  ways  of  getting  possession  of  Arnold  ;  by 
seizure,  or  by  exchange.     Both  were  tried,  but  the  last  only 


364  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

made  any  progress  during  Andre's  life.  It  was  sought  to 
induce  him  to  apply  in  his  own  name  to  Clinton  for  the  ex 
change.  A  gentleman,  surmising  that  Arnold  had  been  pre 
pared  from  the  first  to  sacrifice  Andre  to  his  own  security, 
and  that  on  this  score  Sir  Henry  might  be  willing  to  give 
him  up,  opened  the  matter  to  the  condemned  man,  who  de 
clined  the  expedient.  Tradition  has  named  Hamilton  as 
having  made  the  overture.  "  If  Arnold  could  —  "  he  began. 
"  Stop,"  peremptorily  interposed  the  captive  :  "  such  a  propo 
sition  can  never  come  from  me  !  "  *  But  Hamilton  himself, 
on  the  very  day  of  the  execution,  has  thus  addressed  his 
betrothed :  — 

"  It  was  proposed  to  me  to  suggest  to  him  the  idea  of  an 
exchange  for  Arnold  ;  but  I  knew  I  should  have  forfeited 
his  esteem  by  doing  it,  and  therefore  declined  it.  As  a  man 
of  honor,  he  could  not  but  reject  it;  and  I  would  not  for  the 
world  have  proposed  to  him  a  thing  which  must  have  placed 
me  in  the  unamiable  light  of  supposing  him  capable  of  a 
meanness,  or  of  not  feeling  myself  the  impropriety  of  the 
measure.  I  confess  to  you,  I  had  the  weakness  to  value  the 
esteem  of  a  dying  man,  because  I  reverenced  his  merit." 

The  idea  was  nevertheless  cherished  at  head-quarters. 
Greene*  it  will  be  seen,  suggested  it  to  Robertson ;  and 
Washington  without  committing  himself  ostensibly  to  the 
proposal,  indirectly  brought  it  before  Clinton.  Simcoe  de 
clares  that  among  the  letters  between  the  generals,  a  paper 
was  slipped  in  unsigned,  but  in  Hamilton's  writing,  saying 
*•  that  the  only  way  to  save  Andre  was  to  give  up  Arnold." 
The  occasion  of  this  must  have  been  when  Washington  wrote 
to  Clinton,  on  the  30th  September,  enclosing  Andre's  open 
letter  of  the  29th. 


WASHINGTON    TO    CLINTON. 

Head- Quarters,   Sept.   30,   1780.  —  Sin:    In    answer   to 
*  Cooper,  apparently  ex  rtl  La  Fayette.     Trav.  Bach.  i.  221. 


WASHINGTON'S  RELPY  TO  CLINTON.  365 

your  Excellency's  letter  of  the  26th  instant,  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  receive,  I  am  to  inform  you  that  Major  Andre  was 
taken  under  such  circumstances  as  would  have  justified  the 
most  rigorous  proceedings  against  him.  I  determined,  how 
ever,  to  refer  his  case  to  the  examination  and  decision  of  a 
Board  of  General  Officers,  who  have  reported,  on  his  free 
and  voluntary  confession  and  letters  :  — 

"  First,  that  he  came  on  shore,  from  the  Vulture  sloop-of- 
war,  in  the  night  of  the  21st  of  September  instant,  on  an 
interview  with  General  Arnold,  in  a  private  and  secret  man 
ner. 

"  Secondly,  That  he  changed  his  dress  within  our  lines  ; 
and,  under  a  feigned  name,  and  in  a  disguised  habit,  passed 
our  works  at  Stony  and  Verplanck's  Points,  the  evening  of 
the  22d  of  September  instant,  and  was  taken  the  morning  of 
the  23d  of  September  instant,  at  Tarrytown,  in  a  disguised 
habit,  being  then  on  his  way  to  New  York  ;  and,  when  taken, 
he  had  in  his  possession  several  papers,  which  contained 
intelligence  for  the  enemy." 

From  these  proceedings  it  is  evident,  that  Major  Andre  was 
employed  in  the  execution  of  measures  very  foreign  to  the 
objects  of  flags  of  truce,  and  such  as  they  were  never  meant 
to  authorize  or  countenance  in  the  most  distant  degree ;  and 
this  gentleman  confessed,  with  the  greatest  candor,  in  the 
course  of  his  examination,  "  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
suppose,  that  he  came  on  shore  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag." 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.* 


*  "  The  closing  part  of  the  report  of  the  board  of  officers  was  not  quoted 
in  the  letter  to  Sir  Heniy  Clinton.  It  was  in  the  following  words :  — '  The 
Board,  having  maturely  considered  these  facts,  do  also  report  to  his  Excel 
lency  General  Washington,  that  Major  Andre",  adjutant-general  to  the 
British  army,  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  spy  from  the  enemy,  and  that, 
agreeably  to  the  law  and  usage  of  nations,  it  is  their  opinion  he  ought  to 
suffer  death.1  "  Sparks' s  Wash.  vii.  539.  The  Case  of  Major  Andre  how 
ever  gives  the  letter  as  in  my  text,  but  probably  took  it  and  other  matter 
from  the  publication  of  Congress.  Yet  this  last  work  printed  the  letter  of 
Washington  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to  the  inference  that  the  omission 


366  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

Captain  Aaron  Ogden  of  New  Jersey  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  soldiers  of  his  grade  in  our  ranks.  He  was  of 
good  birth,  unblemished  integrity,  and  approved  courage  ; 
and  had  been  pierced  by  a  bayonet  in  one  of  the  character 
istic  night-marches  of  Andre's  first  patron,  General  Grey. 
Though  his  kinsman  of  the  same  name  had  followed  Arnold 
to  the  gates  of  Quebec,  it  is  probable  that  this  gentleman 
held  him  in  no  great  liking,  since  Maxwell,  his  own  former 
leader,  perfectly  hated  him.  Ogden  had  now  a  company  in 
La  Fayette's  Light  Infantry  division  ;  a  corps  d'elite,  picked 
from  the  whole  army. 

On  the  evening  of  the  29th,  when  the  Board  had  finished 
its  deliberations,  Ogden  was  commanded  to  wait  upon  Wash 
ington  the  next  day  at  eight  A.  M.  precisely.  The  chief 
alone  met  him  at  the  door,  and  privately  gave  him  his  orders. 
He  was  to  select  twenty-five  choice  dragoons,  reliable  men 
and  of  good  appearance,  and  procuring  for  himself  the  best 
horse  he  could  find,  to  carry  a  flag  and  deliver  a  packet 
for  Clinton  to  the  commander  of  the  nearest  British  post. 
Further,  before  departing  he  was  to  call  for  additional  in 
structions  on  La  Fayette,  who  lay  with  his  brigade  in 
advance  of  the  main  army  and  nearer  to  New  York. 
The  orders  he  received  from  La  Fayette  were  that  he 
"  should  if  possible  get  within  the  British  post  at  Powles 
Hook,  and  continue  there  during  the  night ;  and  that  he 
should  privately  assure  the  commanding  officer  there,  without 
taking  him  aside  for  the  purpose,  that  he,  Captain  Ogden, 
was  instructed  to  say  that  if  Sir  Henry  Clinton  would  in  any 
way  suffer  Washington  to  get  General  Arnold  within  his 
power,  that  Major  Andre  should  be  immediately  released." 
Ogden  therefore  so  contrived  his  march,  that  it  was  the 
evening  of  the  30th  when  he  came  to  the  British  outpost. 

of  the  concluding  paragraph  was  intentional:  and  indeed,  if  Clinton  could 
have  at  all  been  brought  to  surrender  Arnold,  it  was  desirable  that  he 
should  be  afforded  a  pretence  of  ignorance  that  he  was  remanding  him  to 
the  gallows. 


OGDEN  SENT  WITH  DESPATCHES  TO  CLINTON.     367 

He  was  told  that  he  might  remain  while  his  despatch  was 
sent  in  ;  but  he  replied  that  he  had  peremptory  directions  to 
give  it  up  to  no  one  but  the  officer  commanding  the  post. 
The  circumstances  of  the  case  —  for  it  must  have  been  evi 
dent  that  his  papers  had  some  connection  with  Andre  — 
provoked  a  suspension  of  the  usual  customs,  and  he  was  per 
mitted  to  pass  in  and  deliver  them  as  he  was  bidden.  He 
was  received  with  great  politeness  and,  the  evening  now 
being  advanced,  was  offered  quarters  for  the  night.  No  op 
portunity  however  occurred  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  secret 
duties  until  supper  was  served,  when,  in  courtesy  to  a 
stranger,  he  was  seated  by  the  commandant.  In  the  course 
of  conversation  he  was  asked  of  Andre's  probable  fate,  and 
promptly  answered  that  he  would  be  hung.  Was  there  no 
means,  exclaimed  the  Englishman,  of  saving  him  ?  There 
was  certainly  a  means,  whispered  Ogden  in  reply :  let  Ar 
nold  be  surrendered,  and  he  was  prepared  to  say,  though 
with  no  formal  assurance  from  Washington  to  the  effect,  that 
Andre  would  be  yielded  up.  The  officer  at  once  carried  this 
important  communication  to  his  General.  On  his  return  he 
gave  Ogden  the  only  reply  that  any  soldier  should  have  ex 
pected.  The  suggested  course  was  totally  inadmissible,  and 
Clinton  would  not  even  consider  it.  At  daybreak  everything 
was  prepared  for  Ogden's  departure  ;  and  it  was  not  till  this 
moment  that  he  found  out  that  his  chosen  sergeant  had  de 
serted  to  the  enemy.  This  evasion  however  was  performed 
in  obedience  to  Washington's  own  and  secret  arrangements, 
concealed  for  the  time  from  Ogden  himself,  and  directed  with 
a  view  to  procure  a  sure  and  unsuspected  spy  in  the  British 
lines,  as  well  as  an  intelligent  watchman  over  Arnold  and  his 
every  motion. 

Meanwhile,  intelligence  of  the  finding  of  the  court  and  of 
his  fate  were  communicated  to  Andre  through  two  officers 
from  Greene,  one  of  whom  was  his  aide,  Major  Burnet.  The 
sentence  was  listened  to  with  a  composure  that  his  informants 
vainly  strove  to  emulate.  The  prisoner  had  steeled  himself 


368  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

to  encounter  death :  "  I  avow  no  guilt,"  he  said,  "  but  I  am 
resigned  to  my  fate."  Yet  he  shrunk  from  the  idea  of  the  hal 
ter.  "  Since  it  was  his  lot  to  die,"  he  said,  "  there  was  still  a 
choice  in  the  mode  which  would  make  a  material  difference 
to  his  feelings  ;  and  he  would  be  happy,  if  possible,  to  be  in 
dulged  with  a  professional  death  " ;  and  he  seems  to  have  at 
once  verbally  petitioned,  probably  through  Hamilton,  that 
Washington  would  consent  to  his  being  shot.  Probably  an 
ticipating  no  refusal  to  this  request,  he  retained  for  some  time 
a  tranquillity  of  spirit  approaching  even  to  cheerfulness.  The 
arrival  of  his  servant  had  enabled  him  to  discard  the  slovenly 
raiment  that  had  previously  embarrassed  him,  and  he  was 
now  as  neat  and  comely  in  his  appearance  as  though  he  were 
doing  duty  before  his  sovereign  at  Windsor  Castle  instead  of 
languishing  in  a  condemned  cell.  Still  looking  for  his  exe 
cution  on  the  day  originally  assigned,  he  busied  himself  in 
farewell  communications  to  his  friends.  To  Captain  Crosbie 
he  wrote  that  "  the  manner  in  which  he  was  to  die  had  at 
first  given  him  some  slight  uneasiness,  but  he  instantly  recol 
lected  that  it  was  the  crime  alone  that  made  any  mode  of 
punishment  ignominious,  and  that  he  could  not  think  an  at 
tempt  to  put  an  end  to  a  civil  war,  and  to  stop  the  effusion  of 
human  blood,  a  crime.  —  He  should  therefore  meet  death 
with  the  spirit  becoming  a  British  officer,  and  neither  dis 
grace  his  friends  nor  his  country."  These  letters  he  con 
fided  to  his  servant,  to  be  delivered  when  he  returned  to  New 
York. 

In  fact,  every  authority  testifies  to  the  composure  and  dig 
nity  preserved  by  this  unfortunate  man  while  he  was  in  our 
hands.  "  All  of  the  court  that  inquired  into  his  case,"  says 
La  Fayette,  "  were  filled  with  sentiments  of  admiration  and 
compassion  for  him."  "  He  behaved  with  so  much  frankness, 
courage,  and  delicacy,  that  I  could  not  help  lamenting  his  un 
happy  fate,"  continues  the  marquis.  "  It  is  impossible  to  ex 
press  too  much  respect  or  too  deep  regret  for  Major  Andre." 
Heath  wrote  that  his  behavior  "  was  becoming  an  officer  and 


OEDER  OF  EXECUTION.  369 

a  gentleman,  and  such  in  his  last  moments  as  drew  tears  from 
many  eyes.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  who  con 
sents  to  become  a  spy  when  he  sets  out  has  by  allusion  a 
halter  put  round  his  neck,  and  that  by  the  usage  of  armies  if 
he  be  taken  the  other  end  of  the  halter  is  speedily  made  fast 
to  the  gallows."  Tallmadge  observes  "  that  from  the  few 
days  of  intimate  intercourse  I  had  with  him,  which  was  from 
the  time  of  his  being  remanded  to  the  period  of  his  execu 
tion,  I  became  so  deeply  attached  to  Major  Andre,  that  I 
could  remember  no  instance  where  my  affections  were  so  fully 
absorbed  by  any  man.  When  I  saw  him  swing  under  the 
gibbet,  it  seemed  for  a  time  utterly  insupportable  :  all  were 
overwhelmed  with  the  affecting  spectacle,  and  the  eyes  of 
many  were  suffused  with  tears.  There  did  not  appear  to  be 
one  hardened  or  indifferent  spectator  in  all  the  multitude 
assembled  on  that  solemn  occasion."  Thacher,  Hamilton, 
Washington  himself,  bear  witness  that  his  whole  conduct  to 
the  last  breath  of  life  was  that  of  the  accomplished  man  and 
gallant  officer.  The  test  applied  to  his  character  was  a  se 
vere  one :  for  neither  by  day  nor  night  was  he  without  an 
American  officer  at  his  side ;  nor,  unless  when  busied  with  his 
pen,  or  buying  peaches  from  the  country  people  of  the  neigh 
borhood,  had  he  any  other  means  of  employing  his  thoughts 
than  in  such  society.  Any  lapse  from  the  most  lofty  pro 
priety  would  have  been  instantly  detected  and  remarked  on. 

The  morning  orders  of  Sunday,  October  1st,  published  to 
the  army  the  finding  of  the  Board  of  Officers,  and  concluded 
with  this  paragraph  :  — 

"  The  Commander-in-chief  directs  the  execution  of  the 
above  sentence  in  the  usual  way,  this  afternoon,  at  five 
o'clock,  precisely." 

We  may  suppose  that  this  intelligence  was  not  long  in 
coming  to  the  prisoner,  and  that  he  saw  now  a  likelihood  of 
his  request  to  be  shot  being  disregarded.  It  was  believed 
in  our  camp  that  Washington  himself  was  not  disinclined  to 
grant  it,  but  that  the  advice  of  his  generals  deterred  him. 
24 


370  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

Greene,  it  was  said,  was  clear  that  Andre  was  a  spy  and  should 
die  the  death  of  a  spy  :  that  were  he  not  hanged,  the  notion 
that  there  were  grounds  for  this  extent  of  leniency  would 
be  twisted  into  a  belief  that  his  death  was  entirely  uncalled 
for.  The  public  good,  he  thought,  required  the  use  of  the  rope. 
And  Greene's  biographer  and  kinsman  seems  to  believe  that 
this  general  was  positive  on  the  point,  though  "  it  was  with 
a  trembling  hand  and  eyes  dimmed  with  tears  that  he  signed 
the  fatal  decree."  Burnet  declares  that  Washington  was 
convinced  he  could  not  consistently  with  the  customs  of  war 
alter  the  manner  of  death  "  without  subjecting  himself  to  the 
charge  of  instability  or  want  of  nerve."  But  Andre  resolved 
on  a  direct  appeal ;  and  we  gather  from  Hamilton's  language 
but  a  brief  moment  before  the  fatal  hour  that  it  did  not  fail 
for  lack  of  his  mediation  with  Washington  :  — 

"  Poor  Andre  suffers  to-day  ;  — everything  that  is  amiable, 
in  virtue,  in  fortitude,  in  delicate  sentiment,  and  accomplished 
manners,  pleads  for  him  ;  but  hard-hearted  policy  calls  for  a 

sacrifice.  lie  must  die .  I  send  you  my  account  of 

Arnold's  affair  ;  and  to  justify  myself  to  your  sentiments,  I 
must  inform  you,  that  I  urged  a  compliance  with  Andre's  re 
quest  to  be  shot,  and  I  do  not  think  it  would  have  had  an  ill 
effect;  but  some  people  are  only  sensible  to  motives  of  poli 
cy,  and,  sometimes,  from  a  narrow  disposition,  mistake  it. 

"  When  Andre's  tale  comes  to  be  told,  and  present  resent 
ment  is  over,  —  the  refusing  him  the  privilege  of  choosing 
the  manner  of  his  death  will  be  branded  with  too  much  ob 
stinacy." 

On  the  morning  of  October  1st,  Andre  amused  himself  with 
some  last  reminiscences  of  that  art  whose  pleasant  exercise 
had  so  constantly  attended  his  life.  A  pen-and-ink  likeness 
of  himself,  drawn  on  this  occasion  without  the  aid  of  a  mir 
ror,  was  sketched  by  him  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Tomlinson, 
an  officer  of  the  attendant  guard,  to  whom  he  gave  it  as  a 
memorial.  It  is  still  preserved  in  the  Trumbull  gallery  at 
Yale  College.  He  was  wont  to  make  such  portraits  for  his 


THE  EXECUTION  DELAYED.          371 

friends ;  and  from  the  writing  materials,  &c.,  displayed  on 
the  table,  we  may  conjecture  that  this  was  produced  when 
his  last  letter  to  Washington  was  written.  At  this  period 
his  air  was  serene,  though  his  thoughts  must  have  been  ago 
nizing  :  for  say  or  do  what  he  would,  he  could  not  brook  the 
idea  of  a  felon's  death.  But  like  the  savage  warrior  at  the 
stake,  he  felt  that  there  was  no  moment,  sleeping  or  waking, 
when  he  might  privately  give  vent  to  the  effusions  of  natural 
emotion  ;  and  his  composure  was  steadfastly  preserved.  His 
servant  was  not  so  calm ;  and  on  this  morning,  which  there 
was  no  reason  to  believe  was  not  Andre's  last  on  earth, 
Laune  entered  the  chamber  with  his  face  bathed  in  tears. 
His  master  noticed  it,  and  tranquilly  dismissed  him:  "Leave 
me,"  said  he,  "till  you  can  show -yourself  more  manly." 

The  day  was  passing  away  and  the  hour  at  hand  that  was 
prescribed  for  the  execution.  The  gibbet  was  erected,  the 
grave  dug,  and  the  coffin  provided  ;  and  throngs  of  spectators 
crowded  to  the  appointed  spot.  Captain  Ebenezer  Smith, 
of  the  Massachusetts  Line,  was  in  waiting  at  Andre's  side  as 
commandant  of  the  guard  appointed  to  escort  him  to  the  gal 
lows.  He  describes  the  prisoner's  manners  on  this  trying 
occasion  as  highly  pleasing,  and  his  conversation  intelligent : 
but  the  mental  agony  which  convulsed  his  whole  frame  as 
the  moment  of  doom  came  near  was  too  much  for  the  honest- 
hearted  gentleman  to  stomach.  It  seemed  to  him,  he  said  in 
terse  and  nervous  phrase,  as  though  the  very  flesh  was  crawl 
ing  upon  Andre's  bones  as  he  paced  the  floor.  Captain  Smith 
faced  all  the  perils,  all  the  privations  of  our  revolutionary 
contest,  —  and  he  probably  had  his  share  of  pleasure  and  of 
comfort  in  the  ensuing  years,  —  but  he  ever  avowed  that  the 
respite  which  relieved  him  from  his  melancholy  charge  made 
this  Sunday  to  be  reckoned  among  the  happiest  days  of  his 
life.  The  occasion  of  the  interruption  was  the  intelligence 
brought  by  Ogden  from  Clinton.  He  had  arrived  in  camp 
that  morning  ;  but  for  some  reason  the  postponement  of  the 


372  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

execution  does  not  appear  to  have  been  announced  until  late 
in  the  afternoon.     Clinton's  letter  was  as  follows  : 


CLINTON    TO    WASHINGTON. 

New  York,  Sept.  30,  1780.  — Sm:  From  your  Excel 
lency's  letter  of  this  date,  I  am  persuaded  the  Board  of 
General  Officers,  to  whom  you  referred  the  case  of  Major 
Andre,  can't  have  been  rightly  informed  of  all  the  circum 
stances  on  which  a  judgment  ought  to  be  formed.  I  think 
it  of  the  highest  moment  to  humanity,  that  your  Excellency 
should  be  perfectly  apprized  of  the  state  of  the  matter,  be 
fore  you  proceed  to  put  that  judgment  in  execution. 

For  this  reason,  I  shall  send  his  Excellency  Lieutenant- 
General  Robertson,  and  two  other  gentlemen,  to  give  you  a 
true  state  of  facts,  and  to  declare  to  you  my  sentiments  and 
resolutions.  They  will  set  out  to-morrow  as  early  as  the 
wind  and  tide  will  permit,  and  will  wait  near  Dobb's  Ferry 
for  your  permission  and  safe-conduct,  to  meet  your  Excel 
lency,  or  such  persons  as  you  may  appoint,  to  converse  with 
them  on  the  subject.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

P.  S.  The  Honorable  Andrew  Elliot,  Esq.,  Lieuten 
ant-Governor,  and  the  Honorable  William  Smith,  Esq., 
Chief-Justice  of  this  Province,  will  attend  his  Excellency 
Lieutenant-General  Robertson. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Expedients  of  the  British  to  procure  Andre's  Liberation.  —  Their  Failure. 
—  Correspondence  in  the  Case. 

POWLES  HOOK  was  only  separated  from  New  York  by 
the  Hudson,  and  was  almost  opposite  Clinton's  head-quarters. 
The  papers  brought  by  Ogden  were  therefore  not  long  in 
coming  to  his  hand ;  and  he  at  once  summoned  Mr.  Smith 
the  king's  chief-justice  of  New  York,  Mr.  John  Tabor  Kempe 
the  attorney-general,  and  other  civilians,  to  meet  in  consulta 
tion  with  his  general  officers.  Having  stated  the  circum 
stances  of  the  case  and  submitted  Washington's  letter,  Sir 
Henry  asked  Smith  whether  in  his  opinion  the  Americans 
could  hang  Andre  as  a  spy.  The  chief-justice  said  that  a 
reference  to  the  authorities  on  the  question  led  him  to  believe 
they  could  not ;  and  in  this  opinion  the  officers  concurred. 
But  Kempe  preserving  a  silence,  one  of  them  put  the  same 
query  to  him.  Without  going  into  the  law  of  the  matter  he 
curtly  answered,  "  I  think  they  will  hang  him."  The  querist 
turned  away  in  disgust,  and  the  attorney-general  presently 
retired.  The  conclusion  arrived  at  by  the  council,  however, 
was  that  as  the  American  board  could  not  have  been  pos 
sessed  of  full  evidence  in  the  business,  a  deputation  should 
proceed  forthwith  to  our  lines,  armed  with  satisfactory  proofs 
of  Andre's  innocence  :  and  that  Washington  should  be  noti 
fied  by  return  of  his  own  flag  of  the  coming  envoys. 

So  soon  as  Andre's  imprisonment  was  known,  Simcoe  had 
put  himself  in  readiness  to  recapture  him  ;  and  begged  of  Clin 
ton  that  in  any  attempt  of  that  nature  his  regiment  should  have 
the  honor  of  its  charge.  Thinking  the  prisoner  might  perhaps 
be  sent  on  to  Congress,  his  scouts  vigilantly  watched  the  route 


374  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRL\ 

between  our  camp  and  Philadelphia,  to  give  timely  warning 
of  any  chance  to  fall  on  the  escort.  Henry  Lee  and  himself, 
being  particular  enemies  on  public  grounds,  were  very  good 
friends  in  private  ;  and  he  lost  no  time  in  asking  an  interview 
with  our  partisan  leader,  of  which  the  real  object  was  to 
speak  about  Andre.  Lee  replied  on  the  2nd  October,  writ 
ing  perhaps  under  the  impression  that  prevailed  in  La  Fay- 
ette's  camp  of  the  success  of  Ogden's  negotiation  for  Clinton's 
consent  to  the  surrender  of  Arnold  :  "  I  am  happy  in  telling 
you  that  there  is  a  probability  of  Major  Andre's  being  re 
stored  to  his  country,  and  the  customs  of  war  being  fully  sat 
isfied."  But  before  the  letter  was  sealed  Lee  had  better 
intelligence,  and  he  concludes  in  this  wise  :  —  "  Since  writing 
the  foregoing,  I  find  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  offers  have  not 
come  up  to  what  was  expected,  and  that  this  hour  is  fixed  for 
the  execution  of  the  sentence.  How  cold  the  friendship  of 
those  high  in  power  !  "* 

It  would  indeed  have  been  the  extreme  of  baseness  in  Clin 
ton,  under  all  the  circumstances,  to  have  given  Arnold  up  in 
exchange  for  Andre  ;  and  though  the  full  details  of  what  had 
gone  before  could  not  have  been  known  in  our  camp,  it  is 

*  Simcoe  comments  that  no  offers  were  made  by  Clinton.  In  this  he  is 
right;  for  the  proffered  exchanges  of  American  prisoners  for  Andre  were  not 
such  offers  as  Lee  meant.  Simcoe  was,  either  for  book-learning  about  his 
profession  or  conduct  on  the  field,  one  of  the  best  soldiers  of  his  day:  and 
the  extreme  language  he  uses  in  his  reply  to  Lee  must  therefore  have  in 
terest,  as  showing  the  feeling  of  the  enemy  in  regard  to  the  execution:  — 
"  I  am  at  a  loss  to  express  myself  on  the  latter  paragraphs  of  your  letter; 
I  have  long  accustomed  myself  to  be  silent,  or  to  speak  the  language  of  the 
heart.  The  useless  murder  of  Major  Andre,  would  almost,  was  it  possible, 
annihilate  the  wish  which,  consentaneous  to  the  ideas  of  our  sovereign  and 
the  government  of  Great  Britain,  has  ever  operated  on  the  oflicers  of  the 
British  army,  the  wish  of  a  reconciliation  with  their  revolted  fellow  subjects 
in  America.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  has  the  wannest  feelings  for  those  under 
his  command,  and  was  ready  to  have  granted  for  Major  Andre's  exchange, 
whatever  ought  to  have  been  asked.  Though  every  desire  I  had  formed 
to  think,  in  some  instances,  favourably  of  those  who  could  urge  or  of  him 
who  could  permit  the  murder  of  this  most  virtuous  and  accomplished  gen 
tleman,  be  now  totally  eradicated;  I  must  still  subscribe  myself  with  great 
personal  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  obliged  servant,  J.  G.  SIM 
COE."  —  Simcoe' s  Mil.  Jour.  293. 


EFFORTS  FOR  ANDRE'S  LIBERATION.       375 

evident  that  there  was  sufficient  cause  to  prevent  the  proposal 
being  made  to  him  in  other  than  a  covert  manner.  That  it 
should  be  unhesitatingly  refused  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
But  there  is  some  reason  to  suppose  that  in  this  juncture 
Arnold  may  himself  have  made  an  overture  perfectly  in 
keeping  with  his  reckless  intrepidity  of  character.  In  the 
beginning  of  1782,  he  was  assailed  at  London  with  a  public 
charge  of  having  basely  left  Andre  to  die  that  his  own  life 
might  be  saved.  On  this  a  British  officer,  who  appears  to 
have  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  military  men  of  the  highest 
social  rank,  came  forward  with  a  statement  for  the  truth  of 
which  he  appealed  to  the  gentlemen  who  were  in  the  fall  of 
1780  members  of  Clinton's  family.  He  declared  that  he  was 
with  the  English  army  when  Andre  was  captured  and  Arnold 
came  in ;  that  it  was  currently  reported  and  believed  in  the 
lines  that  Arnold  himself  proposed  to  Sir  Henry  that  he  might 
be  permitted  to  go  out  and  surrender  himself,  in  exchange  for 
Andre  ;  and  that  the  reply  was  —  "  Your  proposal,  sir,  does 
you  great  honour  ;  but  if  Andre  was  my  own  brother,  I  could 
not  agree  to  it."  This  anecdote  is  not  devoid  of  support 
from  what  we  know  of  the  man's  nature ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  both  to  himself  and  the  world,  his  certain  death  under 
circumstances  such  as  these  would  have  worn  a  very  different 
aspect  from  that  which  would  have  followed  a  discovery  and 
arrest  ere  his  flight  was  made  good.* 

Whether  simply  in  decent  respect  to  Clinton's  communi 
cation  of  September  30th,  or,  as  Lee  intimates,  in  hope  that 
he  might  consent  to  yield  Arnold,  Andre's  execution  had  been 
respited 'until  noon  of  October  2nd.  This  postponement  was 
thus  entered  in  the  orderly  book  of  a  Connecticut  regiment 
on  the  1st :  —  "Evening  Orders.  Major  Andre  is  to  be  exe 
cuted  tomorrow,  at  twelve  o'clock  precisely.  A  battalion  of 
eighty  files  from  each  wing  to  attend  the  execution.  Four 
teen  general  officers  of  the  most  honorable  and  unimpeacha 
ble  character  constituted  the  court  martial,"  etc.'f 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  I.  f  Here  follow  their  names. 


376  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDElL 

Leaving  New  York  betimes,  the  Greyhound  flag-of-truce 
schooner  had  a  speedy  passage  to  Dobb's  Ferry,  within  four 
miles  of  Tappaan,  bringing  with  her  the  deputation  before 
named,  and  Beverly  Robinson  who  it  was  supposed  would  be 
admitted  to  give  a  statement  of  the  manner  in  which  Andre 
went  ashore.  This  fact  goes  to  discredit  the  stories  that  pre 
vail  and  have  already  been  referred  to  of  Robinson's  distrust 
of  the  security  under  which  his  companion  left  the  Vulture. 
The  character  of  the  gentlemen  whom  he  now  accompanied 
was  proportionate  to  the  importance  of  their  mission.  Smith, 
the  brother  of  Andre's  guide,  was  of  high  legal  attainments, 
and  passed  from  the  chief-justiceship  of  New  York  under  the 
crown  to  that  of  Canada.  His  historical  writings  are  valua 
ble.  Eliot  was  "  a  tall,  thin,  Scots  gentleman  with  a  pimply 
face,"  father-in-law  of  Andre's  friend  Cathcart,  and  long 
known  and  respected  both  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York, 
in  which  last  city  he  said  in  1774  that  he  had  for  ten  years 
as  Collector  of  Customs  lived  happily  among  the  inhabitants 
and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  superiors.  His  wife  was  of  one 
of  the  chief  Philadelphia  families,  and  he  had  borne  the  cir 
cumstance  in  mind  when  chance  gave  an  opportunity  of  be 
friending  an  American  prisoner  from  her  own  town.  But  the 
strength  of  the  embassy  lay  in  Robertson,  whose  persuasive 
powers  were  so  well  known  that  the  tories  loudly  declared  he 
would,  had  he  been  allowed  an  interview,  indubitably  have 
put  the  affair  in  such  a  way  to  Washington  as  to  compel  at 
least  a  reconsideration  of  Andre's  case.  He  was  a  canny 
Scot  from  the  kingdom  of  Fife  ;  by  nationality  sagacious  and 
brave,  and  by  education  skilled  in  the  nature  of  his  kind.  If 
we  may  believe  tradition,  he  wrought  with  other  silver  than 
what  lay  on  his  tongue  ;  and  when  his  eloquence  failed  was 
as  ready  to  conquer  with  gold  as  with  steel.  Bred  to  arms, 
the  peace  of  1763  found  him  resident  at  New  York  with  his 
regiment  :  and  when  the  revolution  broke  out  he  was  not 
only  perfectly  familiar  with  the  general  character  of  the  peo 
ple  of  New  York  and  New  England,  but  was  on  terms  of 


CLINTON'S  DELEGATION.  377 

easy  intercourse  with  many  of  the  chief  characters  on  the 
continent.  He  was  shut  up  in  1775  in  Boston,  as  appears 
by  his  letter  of  July  20th  to  Captain  Montague,  thanking 
him  for  a  present  from  the  seas :  "  two  turtles,  at  a  time 
when  a  bit  of  beef  or  mutton  is  a  rare  feast,  command  my 
gratitude."  Later,  he  was  commandant  under  Howe  at  New 
York  ;  and  passing  on  occasion  to  England,  returned  in  1780 
much  trusted  by  ministers,  and  in  the  double  capacity  of  gov 
ernor  of  the  province  and  general  third  in  rank  of  the  king's 
forces  on  the  continent.  "  He  is  an  arch-fiend,"  wrote  Gates 
at  this  time  to  Reed,  "  and  knows  how  to  make  use  of  every 
knave  in  his  government,  and  you  and  I  know  and  believe 
there  are  as  rank  knaves  and  traitors  in  that  government  as 
in  any  in  the  Union.  Whigs,  take  care  !  "  He  had  set  on 
foot  secret  intelligences  with  men  of  good  standing  in  our 
army  and  in  New  England  very  soon  after  he  had  been 
sworn  into  his  civil  office  on  the  22nd  March,  by  Tryon's 
sick-bedside  ;  and  while  large  parts  of  the  heavy  importations 
of  specie  that  England  made  into  New  York  in  this  epoch 
were  constantly  sent  out  of  the  lines,  he  is  charged  by  the 
anonymous  translator  of  Chastellux  with  a  device  that  took 
even  toll  of  the  cash  ere  it  reached  American  pockets.  Not  an 
English  guinea  or  Portuguese  moidore  was  suffered,  says  he, 
to  pass  the  British  lines,  till  it  was  duly  clipped  or  sweated. 
Thus  depreciated,  it  was  more  acceptable  to  our  people 
than  their  own  paper  currency,  which,  like  the  enchanted 
coins  of  old,  might  have  ever  so  fair  appearance  at  first,  but 
soon  shrivelled  up  into  a  heap  of  worthless  leaves.  The 
diminished  pieces  were  known  as  Robertsons.  Divided  into 
halves,  fourths,  and  eighth  parts,  the  mutilated  gold,  under  the 
apt  name  of  sharp-shinned  money,  found  ready  circulation. 

It  was  settled  that  the  delegates  should  not  meet  Washing 
ton,  and  that  Robertson  alone  should  come  ashore.  Eliot  and 
Smith  were  civilians :  Robinson  was  not  named  in  Clinton's 
letter.  Accordingly  Greene,  not  in  an  official  capacity  but 
as  a  private  gentleman,  was  deputed  to  receive  the  English 


378  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

lieutenant-general.  Their  conversation  endured  through  the 
afternoon  to  near  nightfall :  and  Robertson  thus  describes  it 
to  his  superior. 

ROBERTSON    TO    CLINTON. 

Off  DoWs  Ferry,  1st  October,  1780.  — SIR:  On  coming 
to  anchor  here,  I  sent  Murray  on  shore,  who  soon  returned 
with  notice  that  General  Green  was  ready  to  meet  me,  but 
would  not  admit  a  conference  with  the  other  gentlemen. 

I  paid  my  compliments  to  his  character,  and  expressed  the 
satisfaction  I  had  in  treating  with  him  on  the  cause  of  my 
friend,  the  two  armies,  and  humanity.  He  said,  he  could 
not  treat  with  me  as  an  officer ;  that  Mr.  Washington  had 
permitted  him  to  meet  me  as  a  gentleman,  but  the  case  of  an 
acknowledged  spy  admitted  no  official  discussion.  I  said 
that  a  knowledge  of  facts  was  necessary  to  direct  a  General's 
judgment  ;  that  in  whatever  character  I  was  called,  I  hoped 
he  would  represent  what  I  said  candidly  to  Mr.  Washington. 

I  laid  before  him  the  facts,  and  Arnold's  assertions  of  Mr. 
Andre's  being  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  disguised  by  his 
order.  He  showed  me  a  low-spirited  letter  of  Andre's,  say 
ing  that  he  had  not  landed  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  lament 
ing  his  being  taken  in  a  mean  disguise.  He  expresses  this 
in  language  that  admits  it  to  be  criminal.  I  told  him  that 
Andre  stated  facts  with  truth,  but  reasoned  ill  upon  thorn  ; 
that  whether  a  flag  was  flying  or  not,  was  of  no  moment. 
He  landed  and  acted  as  directed  by  their  General.  He  said 
they  would  believe  Andre  in  preference  to  Arnold.  This 
argument  held  long.  I  told  him  you  had  ever  shown  a 
merciful  disposition,  and  an  attention  to  Mr.  Washington's 
requests  ;  that  in  the  instance  of  my  namesake,  you  had 
given  up  a  man  evidently  a  spy,  when  he  signified  his  wish  ;* 

*  Here  Robertson  could  take  strong  ground  ;  for  Washington  himself 
had  so  late  as  the  26th  July,  1780,  in  writing  to  Clinton,  expressly  compli 
mented  the  enemy's  general  upon  the  kindness  with  which  he  had  treated 
his  American  prisoners.  This  fact  by  the  way  ought  in  itself  to  discredit 
the  idea  that  our  leaders  i'elt  a  necessity  of  retaliating  Halo's  execution. 


ROBERTSON'S  REPORT   TO   CLINTON.  379 

that  I  courted  an  intercourse  and  a  return  of  good  offices  ; 
that  Andre  had  your  friendship  and  good  wishes,  and  that 
Mr.  Washington's  humanity  to  him  would  be  productive  of 
acts  of  the  same  kind  on  our  part ;  that  if  Green  had  a  friend, 
or  Mr.  Washington  was  desirous  of  the  release  of  any  man, 
if  he  would  let  me  carry  home  Andre,  I  would  engage  to 
send  such  a  man  out.  He  said  there  was  no  treating  about 
spies.  I  said  no  military  casuist  in  Europe  would  call  An 
dre  a  spy,  and  would  suffer  death  myself,  if  Monsieur 
Rochambault,  or  General  Knyphausen,  would  call  him  by 
that  name.  I  added,  that  I  depended  upon  General  Green's 
candour  and  humanity  to  put  the  facts  I  had  stated,  and  the 
arguments  I  had  used  in  their  fairest  light,  to  Mr.  'Washing 
ton  ;  that  I  would  stay  on  board  all  night,  and  hoped  to  carry 
Mr.  Andre,  or  at  least  Mr.  Washington's  word  for  his  safety, 
along  with  me  the  next  morning. 

Green  now  with  a  blush,  that  showed  the  task  was  im 
posed,  and  did  not  proceed  from  his  own  thought,  told  me 
that  the  army  must  be  satisfied  by  seeing  spies  executed. 
But  there  was  one  thing  that  would  satisfy  them  —  they 
expected  if  Andre  was  set  free,  Arnold  should  be  given  up. 
This  I  answered  with  a  look  only,  which  threw  Green  into 
confusion.  I  am  persuaded  Andre  will  not  be  hurt.  Believe 
me,  Sir,  &c. 

Beyond  what  is  here  stated,  Robertson  is  said  to  have 
intimated  that  under  the  circumstances  any  harsh  treatment 
to  Andre  would  be  retaliated  on  persons  in  New  York  and 
in  Charleston,  where  Mr.  Gadsden  and  several  other  distin 
guished  prisoners  of  war  were  accused  of  engaging  in  a  cor 
respondence  with  Gates  while  on  parole  within  the  British 
lines.  Greene  replied  that  such  language  could  neither  be 
listened  to  nor  understood.  The  gossip  of  the  English  camp 
reported  that  these  gentlemen  were  offered  for  Andre ;  and 
that  even  the  release  of  Mr.  Laurens  was  suggested  without 
effect.  The  American  version,  as  collected  by  Marbois, 


380  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

agrees  with  Robertson's  account  so  far  as  it  goes  ;  grounding 
the  proposed  reference  to  Rochambeau  and  Knyphausen  on 
the  plea  of  their  impartiality  as  strangers.  He  says  also  that 
Greene  took  the  position  that  the  finding  of  the  court  was 
not  to  be  opened,  and  that  Robertson's  suggestion  of  an  ap 
peal  to  Congress  was  inadmissible.  He  concludes  with  an 
extravagant  anecdote  of  Greene's  reading  in  contemptuous 
silence  the  open  letter  of  Arnold  that  was  handed  to  him, 
and  casting  it  at  Robertson's  feet  when  with  no  other  word 
he  broke  up  the  interview.* 

Greene  promised  to  repeat  to  Washington  as  well  as  he 
could  bear  it  in  mind,  what  Robertson  had  said  :  and  the 
latter  returned  to  his  friends  on  the  Greyhound  well  satisfied 
that  things  were  now  in  a  prosperous  train.  They  anxiously 
waited  a  reply  till  the  following  morning,  when  this  note 
was  delivered. 


GREENE    TO    ROBERTSON. 

Camp,    Tappan,  2    October,   1780.  —  SIR:  Agreeably  to 

*  It  is  barely  possible  that  there  may  be  some  groundwork  of  truth  in 
this  anecdote,  and  that  an  aversion  to  Greene  and  a  reluctance  to  shorten 
the  confinement  of  the  President  of  Congress,  hence  grew  up  in  Cornwal- 
lis's  mind.  A  note  in  his  Correspondence  (i.  75),  characterizes  Greene  as 
"  coarse  in  his  manners  and  harsh  in  his  conduct":  and  I  have  before  me 
a  curious  MS.  letter  from  a  loyalist  of  high  character  written  at  London, 
Feb.  6,  1782,  which  says:  — "  Lord  Cornwallis  has  not  yet  appear'd  either 
in  the  House  or  at  Court;  it  is  confidently  reported  that  a  proposal  which 
was  made  to  him  at  the  time  of  his  capture,  and  which  he  rejected  with  the 
sullen  dignity  of  a  British  peer,  will  now  be  accepted  at  the  instance  of  the 
ministry;  and  that  an  exchange  between  him  and  Laurens  will  take  place. 
The  latter  is  returned  from  Bath,  and  tho'  not  yet  able  to  use  his  limbs  is 
much  visited  and  caressed  by  the  minority.  It  is  added  that,  after  the  ex 
change  effected,  his  Lordship  will  be  sent  to  replace  the  discountenanced 
and  disgraced  Sir  Harry.  If  so,  Mr.  Galloway  has  been  writing  to  very 
little  purpose,  and  I  am  afraid  the  friends  to  government  out  of  the  lines 
will  not  rejoice.  But  the  people  of  England,  caught  by  brilliant  actions 
and  too  indolent  for  close  reflection,  are  so  prepossessed  in  favor  of  Lord 
Cornwallis,  that  it  will  not  be  an  easy  task  to  convince  them  of  his  in 
capacity  or  disaffection." 


CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  ANDRE.  381 

your  request  I  communicated  to  General  Washington  the 
substance  of  your  conversation  in  all  the  particulars,  so  far 
as  my  memory  served  me.  It  made  no  alteration  in  his 
opinion  and  determination.  I  need  say  no  more,  after  what 
you  have  already  been  informed.  I  have  the  honor  to 
be,  &c. 

These  tidings,  after  his  previous  conclusions,  must  have 
been  astounding  to  Robertson ;  who  forthwith  addressed 
Washington  directly. 


ROBERTSON   TO    WASHINGTON. 

Greyhound  Schooner,  Flag  of  Truce,  Dobb's  Ferry,  2  Oc 
tober,  1780.  —  SIR  :  A  note  I  had  from  General  Greene  * 
leaves  me  in  doubt  if  his  memory  had  served  him  to  relate 
to  you  with  exactness  the  substance  of  the  conversation  that 
had  passed  between  him  and  myself  on  the  subject  of  Major 
Andre.  In  an  affair  of  so  much  consequence  to  my  friend, 
the  two  armies,  and  humanity,  I  would  leave  no  possibility 
of  a  misunderstanding,  and  therefore  take  the  liberty  to  put 
in  writing  the  substance  of  what  I  said  to  General  Greene. 

I  offered  to  prove,  by  the  evidence  of  Colonel  Robinson 
and  the  officers  of  the  Vulture,  that  Major  Andre  went  on 
shore  at  General  Arnold's  desire,  in  a  boat  sent  for  him  with 
a  flag  of  truce ;  that  he  not  only  came  ashore  with  the  knowl 
edge  and  under  the  protection  of  the  general  who  commanded 
in  the  district,  but  that  he  took  no  step  while  on  shore,  but 
by  the  direction  of  General  Arnold,  as  will  appear  by  the 
enclosed  letter  from  him  to  your  Excellency.  Under  these 
circumstances,  I  could  not,  and  hoped  you  would  not,  con 
sider  Major  Andre  as  a  spy,  for  any  improper  phrase  in  his 
letter  to  you. 

The  facts  he  relates  correspond  with  the  evidence  I  offer, 
but  he  admits  a  conclusion  that  does  not  follow.  The  change 
of  clothes  and  name  was  ordered  by  General  Arnold,  under 


382  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

whose  directions  he  necessarily  was,  while  within  his  com 
mand.  As  General  Greene  and  I  did  not  agree  in  opinion, 
I  wished  that  disinterested  gentlemen  of  knowledge  of  the 
law  of  war  and  of  nations  might  be  asked  their  opinion  on 
the  subject,  and  mentioned  Monsieur  Knyphausen  and  Gen 
eral  Rochambeau. 

I  related  that  a  Captain  Robinson  had  been  delivered  to 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  a  spy,  and  undoubtedly  was  such  ;  but 
that,  it  being  signified  to  him  that  you  were  desirous  that  the 
man  should  be  exchanged,  he  had  ordered  him  to  be  ex 
changed.  I  wished  that  an  intercourse  of  such  civilities  as 
the  rules  of  war  admit  of,  might  take  off  many  of  its  horrors. 
I  admitted  that  Major  Andre  had  a  great  share  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  esteem,  and  that  he  would  be  infinitely  obliged  by 
his  liberation;  and  that  if  he  was  permitted  to  return  with 
me,  I  would  engage  you  would  have  any  person  you  would 
be  pleased  to  name  set  at  liberty.  I  added,  that  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  had  never  put  any  person  to  death  for  a  breach  of 
the  rules  of  war,  though  he  had,  and  now  has,  many  in  his 
power.  Under  the  present  circumstances,  much  good  may 
arise  from  humanity,  much  ill  from  the  want  of  it.  If  that 
could  give  any  weight,  I  beg  leave  to  add  that  your  favor 
able  treatment  of  Major  Andre  will  be  a  favor  I  should  ever 
be  intent  to  return  to  any  you  hold  dear. 

My  memory  does  not  retain  with  the  exactness  I  could 
wish  the  words  of  the  letter,  which  General  Greene  showed 
me,  from  Major  Andre  to  your  Excellency.  For  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  satisfaction,  I  beg  you  will  order  a  copy  of  it  to  be 
sent  to  me  at  New  York.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

Robertson  had  brought  two  letters  from  Arnold  to  Wash 
ington  ;  one  was  a  resignation  of  his  commission  ;  the  other 
was  enclosed  in  the  communication  just  printed,  and  was  as 
follows :  — 


CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  ANDRE. 


ARNOLD    TO    WASHINGTON. 

New  York,  1  October.  1780.  —  SIR:  The  polite  attention 
shown  by  your  Excellency  and  the  gentlemen  of  your  family 
to  Mrs.  Arnold,  when  in  distress,  demand  my  grateful 
acknowledgment  and  thanks,  which  I  beg  leave  to  present. 

From  your  Excellency's  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  I 
find  a  board  of  general  officers  have  given  it  as  their  opinion, 
that  Major  Andre  comes  under  the  description  of  a  spy. 
My  good  opinion  of  the  candor  and  justice  of  those  gentle 
men  leads  me  to  believe  that,  if  they  had  been  made  fully 
acquainted  with  every  circumstance  respecting  Major  Andre, 
they  would  by  no  means  have  considered  him  in  the  light  of 
a  spy,  or  even  of  a  prisoner.  In  justice  to  him,  I  think  it 
my  duty  to  declare  that  he  came  from  on  board  the  Vulture 
at  my  particular  request,  by  a  flag  sent  on  purpose  for  him 
by  Joshua  Smith,  Esq.,  who  had  permission  to  go  to  Dobb's 
Ferry  to  carry  letters,  and  for  other  purposes,  and  to  return. 
This  was  done  as  a  blind  to  the  spy-boats.  Mr.  Smith  at 
the  same  time  had  my  private  directions  to  go  on  board  the 
Vulture,  and  bring  on  shore  Colonel  Robinson,  or  Mr.  John 
Anderson,  which  was  the  name  I  had  requested  Major  An 
dre  to  assume.  At  the  same  time  I  desired  Mr.  Smith  to 
inform  him  that  he  should  have  my  protection,  and  a  safe 
passport  to  return  in  the  same  boat  as  soon  as  our  business 
was  completed.  As  several  accidents  intervened  to  prevent 
his  being  sent  on  board,  I  gave  him  my  passport  to  return  by 
land.  Major  Andre  came  on  shore  in  his  uniform  (without 
disguise),  which,  with  much  reluctance,  at  my  particular  and 
pressing  instance,  he  exchanged  for  another  coat.  I  furnished 
him  with  a  horse  and  saddle,  and  pointed  out  the  route  by 
which  he  was  to  return.  And,  as  commanding  officer  in  the 
department,  I  had  an  undoubted  right  to  transact  all  these 
matters ;  which,  if  wrong,  Major  Andre  ought  by  no  means 
to  suffer  for  them. 

But  if,  after  this  just  and  candid  representation  of  Major 


384  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Andre's  case,  the  board  of  general  officers  adhere  to  their 
former  opinion,  I  shall  suppose  it  dictated  by  passion  and 
resentment ;  and  if  that  gentleman  should  suffer  the  severity 
of  their  sentence,  I  shall  think  myself  bound  by  every  tie  of 
duty  and  honor  to  retaliate  on  such  unhappy  persons  of  your 
army  as  may  fall  within  my  power,  that  the  respect  due  to 
flags,  and  to  the  laws  of  nations,  may  be  better  understood 
and  preserved. 

I  have  further  to  observe  that  forty  of  the  principal  in 
habitants  of  South  Carolina  have  justly  forfeited  their  lives, 
which  have  hitherto  been  spared  by  the  clenlency  of  his  Ex 
cellency  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  cannot  in  justice  extend  his 
mercy  to  them  any  longer,  if  Major  Andre  suffers,  which,  in 
all  probability,  will  open  a  scene  of  blood  at  which  humanity 
will  revolt. 

Suffer  me  then  to  entreat  your  Excellency,  for  your  own 
and  the  honor  of  humanity,  and  the  love  you  have  of  justice, 
that  you  suffer  not  an  unjust  sentence  to  touch  the  life  of 
Major  Andre.  But  if  this  warning  should  be  disregarded,  I 
call  Heaven  and  earth  to  witness  that  your  Excellency  will 
be  justly  answerable  for  the  torrent  of  blood  that  may  be 
spilt  in  consequence.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

It  was  proper  enough  that  Arnold  should  state  the  cir 
cumstances  under  which  Andre  had  come  and  gone  —  for 
indeed  who  other  could  have  recounted  all  of  them  —  but 
beyond  that  he  had  no  right  to  go.  His  threats  of  retaliation 
were  simply  impertinent  to  both  Clinton  and  Washington, 
and  well  fitted  to  provoke  the  indignation  of  our  people. 
But  I  have  no  doubt  that  Washington,  if  he  received  the  let 
ter  in  time,  gave  due  consideration  to  the  facts  it  contained, 
albeit  there  was  little  in  the  way  they  were  put  that  could 
alleviate  his  anger.  He  was  not  the  man  to  punish  Andre 
for  Arnold's  "  consummate  effrontery."  But  it  is  probable 
that  Andre  was  hanged  before  the  communication  came  to 
Washington's  hand :  for  Robertson,  we  are  told,  when  he 


CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  ANDRE.     385 

had  forwarded  it,  set  out  about  noon  to  return  to  New  York  ; 
and  this  was  just  the  hour  of  the  execution.  It  does  not  ap 
pear  that  particular  information  of  the  impending  event  was 
given  to  him ;  and  Clinton  continued  anxiously  to  wait 
further  intelligence  from  our  camp  and  a  reply  to  this  last 
letter.  None  coming,  he  again  prepared  to  address  Wash 
ington,  and  at  the  same  time  called  on  Sutherland  for  a 
statement  of  what,  as  would  seem,  he  intended  him  to  declare 
had  the  commissioners  been  permitted  to  open  the  case. 
Neither  letter  was  sent,  however;  for  after  Clinton's,  but 
before  Sutherland's  was  written,  the  news  arrived  of  Andre's 
death.  To  preserve  the  connection,  however,  both  are  given 
here.* 

CLINTON    TO    WASHINGTON. 

New  York,  October  4dh,  1780.  —  SIR:  I  conceived  I  could 
not  better  or  more  fully  explain  my  sentiments  in  answer  to 
your  Excellency's  letter  of  the  30th  September,  respecting 
Major  Andre,  than  by  sending  Lieut.  Gen.  Robertson  to 
converse,  if  possible,  with  you,  Sir ;  or  at  least  with  some  con 
fidential  officer  from  you.  I  cannot  think  Lieut.  Gen.  Rob 
ertson's  conversation  with  General  Green  has  entirely  an 
swered  the  purposes  for  which  I  wished  the  meeting.  Gen 
eral  Green's  letter  of  the  2d  instant  to  General  Robertson, 
expresses  that  he  had  reported  to  you,  Sir,  as  far  as  memory 
served,  the  discourse  that  had  passed  between  them,  and  that 
it  had  not  produced  any  alteration  in  your  opinion  or  deter 
mination  concerning  Major  Andre. 

I  have,  Sir,  most  carefully  reperused  your  letter  of  Sep 
tember  30th,  which  contains,  indeed,  an  opinion  of  a  Board 
of  your  General  Officers,  but  in  no  respect  any  opinion  or 
determination  of  your  Excellency.  I  must  remain,  there 
fore,  altogether  at  a  loss  what  they  may  be,  until  you  are  so 

*  MS.  Narrative  of  Correspondence  respecting  General  Arnold:  in  Sir 
H.  Clinton's  of  the  llth  Oct.  1780.  State  Paper  Office,  America  and  W. 
Inds.  vol.  126. 

25 


386  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

good  to  inform  me,  which  I  make  no  doubt  of  your  Excel 
lency's  doing  immediately.  I  will,  Sir,  in  the  mean  time, 
very  freely  declare  my  sentiments  upon  this  occasion,  which 
positively  are,  that  under  no  description,  Major  Andre  can 
be  considered  as  a  Spy ;  nor  by  any  usage  of  nations  at  war, 
or  the  customs  of  armies,  can  he  be  treated  as  such.  That 
officer  went  at  Major  General  Arnold's  request  from  me  to 
him,  at  that  time  in  the  American  Service,  and  Commanding 
Officer  at  West-Point.  A  flag  of  truce  was  sent  to  receive 
Major  Andre,  with  which  he  went  on  shore,  and  met  Gen 
eral  Arnold.  To  this  period  he  was  acting  under  my  imme 
diate  orders  as  a  military  man.  What  happened  after,  was 
from  the  entire  direction  and  positive  orders  of  Major  General 
Arnold,  your  officer  commanding  at  West-Point :  And  Major 
Andre  travelled  in  his  way  to  New-York,  with  passports  from 
that  American  General  Officer,  who  had  an  undoubted  right  to 
grant  them.  And  here  it  may  be  necessary  to  observe,  that 
Major  Andre  was  stopped  upon  the  road,  and  on  neutral 
ground,  and  made  a  prisoner  two  days  prior  to  Major  Gen 
eral  Arnold's  quitting  the  American  service  at  West-Point. 
From 'all  which  I  have  a  right  to  assert,  that  Major  Andre 
can  merely  be  considered  as  a  Messenger,  and  not  as  a  Spy. 
He  visited  no  Posts,  made  no  Plans,  held  no  conversation 
with  any  person  save  Major  General  Arnold  ;  and  the  pa 
pers  found  upon  him  were  written  in  that  General  Officer's 
own  hand-writing,  who  directed  Major  Andre  to  receive  and 
deliver  them  to  me.  From  these  circumstances,  I  have  no 
doubt  but  you,  Sir,  will  see  this  matter  in  the  same  point  of 
view  with  me,  and  will  be  extremely  cautious  of  producing  a 
precedent  which  may  render  the  future  progress  of  this  un 
fortunate  war  liable  to  a  want  of  that  humanity,  which  I  am 
willing  to  believe  your  Excellency  possesses,  and  which  I 
have  always  pursued.  I  trust,  Sir,  to  your  good  sense,  and 
to  your  liberality,  for  a  speedy  release  of  Major  Andre,  who, 
I  am  free  to  own,  is  an  Officer  I  extremely  value,  and  a 
Gentleman  I  very  sincerely  regard. 


CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  ANDRE.  387 

I  enclose  to  you,  Sir,  a  list  of  persons,  among  whom  is  a 
Gentleman  who  acted  as  the  American  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  South-Carolina.  A  discovered  conspiracy  and  correspon 
dence  with  General  Gates's  army  have  been  a  reason  for 
removing  these  persons  from  Charlestown  to  St.  Augustine. 
Being  desirous  to  promote  the  release  of  Major  Andre  upon 
any  reasonable  terms,  I  offer  to  you,  Sir,  this  Lieut.  Gover 
nor,  Mr.  Gadson,  for  my  Adjutant  General ;  or  will  make  a 
military  exchange  for  him,  should  you,  Sir,  prefer  it.  Lieut. 
Gen.  Robertson,  in  his  report  to  me,  mentions  his  having 
requested  from  your  Excellency  a  copy  of  Major  Andre's 
letter  to  you,  Sir,  upon  which  seems  to  be  grounded  great 
matter  of  charge  against  him  —  given,  as  if  that  letter  might 
be  considered  as  a  confession  of  his  guilt  as  a  spy.  I  have 
waited  until  this  evening  with  some  impatience  for  the  copy 
of  the  Letter  I  mention,  not  doubting  but  your  Excellency 
will  send  it  to  me.  I  have  now  to  request  you  will,  Sir,  do 
so,  and  I  shall  pay  to  it  every  due  consideration,  and  give 
your  Excellency  my  answer  upon  it  immediately.  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  &c. 


SUTHERLAND    TO    CLINTON. 

Vulture,  off  Spiken  Devil,  October  oth,  1780.  —  SIR  :  The 
account  Col.  Robinson  has  given  your  Excellency  of  our 
transactions,  during  our  late  excursion,  is  so  full  and  just 
in  all  its  particulars,  that  there  is  very  little  left  for  me 
to  add.  But  as  they  have  been  attended  with  such  fatal 
consequences  to  Major  Andre,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  held  im 
proper  if  I  beg  leave  to  submit  my  own  observations  on  the 
subject :  —  at  least  so  far  as  they  relate  to  his  leaving  the 
Vulture,  and  the  light  I  then  saw  him  in. 

Your  Excellency  has  already  been  informed,  that  on  the 
night  of  the  21st  Sept.,  a  Mr.  Smith  came  on  board  with  a 
flag  of  truce.  The  substance  of  his  order  was,  for  himself 
and  two  servants  to  pass  to  Dobb's  Ferry  and  back  again. 


388  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  AKDE&. 

He  likewise  had  a  written  permission  to  bring  up  with  him 
a  Mr.  John  Anderson  and  boy,  and  a  letter  addressed  to  Col. 
Robinson  :  all  of  these  papers  signed  B.  Arnold. 

Most  of  these  circumstances  I  had  been  previously  taught 
to  expect ;  and  I  had  also  been  informed  that  Major  Andre 
was  the  person  understood  by  John  Anderson,  and  that  he 
was  to  go  on  shore  under  that  name,  to  hold  a  conference 
with  General  Arnold.  Mr.  Smith's  powers  appeared  to  me 
of  sufficient  authority  ;  and  as  Major  Andre's  going  under  a 
fictitious  name  was  at  the  particular  request  of  the  officer 
from  whom  they  were  derived,  I  saw  no  reason  for  supposing 
he,  from  that  circumstance,  forfeited  his  claim  to  the  protec 
tion  they  must  otherwise  have  afforded  him.  Clear  I  am 
that  the  matter  must  have  appeared  in  the  same  light  to  him ; 
for  had  it  not,  measures  might  have  been  concerted  for  taking 
him  off  whenever  he  pleased,  which  he  very  well  knew  I,  at 
any  time,  was  enabled  to  accomplish.  I  am  likewise  per 
suaded  that  Mr.  Smith's  ideas  perfectly  coincided  with  ours  ; 
—  for  when  on  the  point  of  setting  off,  Col.  Robinson  ob 
served,  that  as  they  had  but  two  men  in  a  large  boat,  they 
would  find  some  difficulty  in  getting  on  shore  —  and  proposed 
that  one  of  our's  should  tow  them  some  part  of  the  way  :  to 
which  he  objected,  as  it  might,  in  case  of  falling  in  with  any 
of  their  guard-boats,  be  deemed  an  infringement  of  the  flag. 

On  my  first  learning  from  Major  Andre,  that  he  did  not 
intend  going  on  shore  in  his  own  name,  it  immediately  oc 
curred  to  me,  that  an  alteration  of  dress  might  likewise  be 
necessary  ;  and  I  offered  him  a  plain  blue  coat  of  mine  for 
that  purpose,  which  he  declined  accepting,  as  he  said  he  had 
the  Commander  in  Chief's  direction  to  go  in  his  uniform,  and 
by  no  means  to  give  up  his  character ;  adding,  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  had  not  the  smallest  apprehension  on  the  occa 
sion,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  attend  General  Arnold's  sum 
mons  when  and  where  he  pleased. 

The  night  the  flag  was  first  expected,  he  expressed  much 
anxiety  for  its  arrival ;  and  all  next  day  was  fall  of  fear  lest 


CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  ANDRE.  389 

anything  should  have  happened  to  prevent  its  coming.  The 
instant  it  arrived  on  the  ensuing  night,  he  started  out  of  bed, 
and  discovered  the  greatest  impatience  to  be  gone ;  nor  did 
he  in  any  instance  betray  the  least  doubt  of  his  safety  or 
success. 

I  own  I  was  equally  confident.  Nor  can  I  now,  on  the 
most  mature  consideration  of  circumstances,  find  the  least 
reason  for  altering  my  opinion.  What,  therefore,  could  pos 
sibly  have  given  rise  to  so  tragical  an  event  as  has  unhappily 
befallen  Major  Andre,  is  matter  of  the  utmost  .-urprise  and 
concern  to  me.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c. 

A.  SUTHERLAND. 

His  Excellency  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 


CHAPTER   XXL 

Andre  applies  to  be  Shot.  —  His  Request  denied.  —  He  is  hanged.  — Vari 
ous  Accounts  of  the  Execution.  —  Honors  bestowed  on  his  Memory.  — 
His  Remains  removed  to  Westminster  Abbey. 

THE  first  sentence  of  death  passed  in  our  army  was,  I  be 
lieve,  during  the  Quebec  expedition  of  1775  :  the  culprit  was 
respited  by  Arnold  at  the  gallows,  and  sent  back  to  Washing 
ton.  The  earliest  military  execution  seems  to  have  been  that 
of  one  of  the  body-guards,  who  plotted  with  Tryon  to  seize 
our  General  and  deliver  him  to  Howe.  The  most  interest 
ing  was  not  unlike  this  in  many  of  its  circumstances. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  originally  fixed  for  his  death, 
Andre  made  a  moving  appeal  for  a  change  of  its  mode. 


ANDRE    TO    WASHINGTON. 

Tappan,  1  October,  1780.  —  SIR:  Buoy'd  above  the  terror 
of  death  by  the  consciousness  of  a  life  devoted  to  honorable 
pursuits  and  stained  with  no  action  that  can  give  me  remorse, 
I  trust  that  the  request  I  make  to  your  Excellency,  at  this 
serious  period,  and  which  is  to  soften  my  last  moments,  will 
not  be  rejected. 

Sympathy  towards  a  soldier  will  surely  induce  your  Ex 
cellency  and  a  military  tribunal  to  adapt  the  mode  of  my 
death  to  the  feelings  of  a  man  of  honor.  Let  me  hope,  Sir, 
that  if  ought  in  my  character  impresses  you  with  esteem 
towards  me,  if  ought  in  my  misfortunes  marks  me  the  victim 
of  policy  and  not  of  resentment,  I  shall  experience  the  opera 
tion  of  those  feelings  in  your  heart,  by  being  informed  that  I 
am  not  to  die  on  a  gibbet. 


ANDR£  APPLIES  TO  BE  SHOT.  391 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  Excellency's  most  obedient 
and  most  humble  servant, 

JOHN  ANDRE,  Adj.  Genl.  to  the  British  Army.* 

There  are  few,  I  would  fain  believe,  who  can  read  these 
noble  lines,  in  which  decent  self-respect  contends  with  wound 
ed  sensibility,  without  regretting  that  the  same  policy  that 

*  I  believe  that  this  was  the  second  and  last  letter  written  by  Andre"  to 
"Washington;  to  neither  of  which  did  our  chief  reply.  What  then  must  we 
think  of  this  language  of  Miss  Seward  to  her  friend  Miss  Ponsonby  ?  I  give 
the  passage  at  length  to  show  what  tricks  memory  will  sometimes  play 
with  us :  — 

"  No,  dear  madam,  I  was  not,  as  you  suppose,  favoured  with  a  letter  from 
Gen.  Washington  expressly  addressed  to  myself;  but  a  few  years  after 
peace  was  signed  between  this  country  and  America,  an  officer  intro 
duced  himself,  commissioned  from  Gen.  Washington  to  call  upon  me,  and 
assure  me,  from  the  general  himself,  that  no  circumstance  of  his  life  had 
been  so  mortifying  as  to  be  censured  in  the  monody  on  Andre"  as  the  piti 
less  author  of  his  ignominious  fate :  that  he  had  labored  to  save  him  —  that 
he  requested  my  attention  to  papers  on  the  subject,  which  he  had  sent  by 
this  officer  for  my  perusal.  In  examining  them,  I  found  they  entirely  ac 
quitted  the  general.  They  filled  me  with  contrition  for  the  rash  injustice 
of  my  censure.  With  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  court-martial  that 
determined  Andre's  condemnation,  there  was  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Gen. 
Washington  to  General  Clinton,  offering  to  give  up  Andre*  in  exchange 
for  Arnold,  who  had  fled  to  the  British  camp,  observing  the  reason  there 
was  to  believe  that  the  apostate  general  had  exposed  the  gallant  English 
officer  to  unnecessary  danger,  to  facilitate  his  own  escape :  copy  of  another 
letter  of  Gen.  Washington  to  Major  Andre,  adjuring  him  to  state  to  the 
commander  in  chief  his  unavoidable  conviction  of  the  selfish  perfidy  cf  Ar 
nold,  in  suggesting  that  plan  of  disguise  which  exposed  Andre,  if  taken,  to 
certain  condemnation  as  a  spy,  when,  if  he  had  come  openly  in  his  regi 
mentals,  and  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  the  then  unsuspecting  American  gen 
eral,  he  would  have  been  perfectly  safe ;  copy  of  Andre's  high-souled  answer, 
thanking  General  Washington  for  the  interest  he  took  in  his  destiny:  but 
observing,  that,  even  under  conviction  of  General  Arnold's  inattention  to 
his  safety,  he  could  not  suggest  to  General  Clinton  anything  which  might 
influence  him  to  save  his  less  important  life  by  such  an  exchange.  These, 
madam,  are  the  circumstances,  as  faithfully  as  I  can  recall  them  at  such  a 
distance  of  time,  of  the  interview  with  General  Washington's  friend,  which 
I  slightly  mentioned  to  yourself  and  Lady  Eleanor,  when  I  had  the  happi 
ness  of  being  with  you  last  summer." 

The  American  officer  referred  to  is  supposed  to  have  been  Colonel  Hum 
phreys. 


392  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

exacted  the  sacrifice  prescribed  the  most  rigorous  fulfilment 
of  its  harshest  details.  The  request  was  pronounced  inad 
missible  by  Washington's  counsellors  :  and  since  assent  was 
out  of  his  power,  he  was  unwilling  to  wound  the  writer  by  a 
refusal.  No  reply  wras  therefore  made. 

Letters  of  farewell  to  his  mother  and  his  nearest  friends 
were  written  :  and  the  condemned  man's  calmness  was  still 
evinced  in  the  exercise  of  his  pen.  On  this  same  evening 
he  sketched  from  memory,  as  a  memento  for  a  friend  in  New 
York,  the  striking  view  of  the  North  River  that  had  pre 
sented  itself  to  him  as  he  looked  from  the  window  of  Smith's 
house,  and  figured  the  position  of  the  Vulture  as  she  rode  at 
anchor  beyond  his  reach.  Tradition  also  assigns  to  this 
occasion  the  composition  of  some  last  verses,  that  were  long 
cherished  on  the  lips  of  the  common  people.*  The  morning 
of  Tuesday,  October  the  2d,  1780,  found  him  with  his  mor 
tal  duties  all  performed  and  not  afraid  to  die. 

The  prisoner's  board  was  supplied  from  Washington's  own 
table  :  on  this  day  his  breakfast  was  sent  him,  as  usual,  from 
the  General's  quarters.  lie  ate  with  entire  composure,  and 
then  proceeded  -to  shave  and  to  dress  with  particular  care. 
He  was  fully  arrayed  in  the  habits  of  his  rank  and  profes 
sion,  with  the  exception  of  sash  and  spurs,  sword  and  gorget. 
The  toilet  completed,  he  laid  his  hat  on  the  table  and  cheer 
fully  said  to  the  guard-officers  deputed  to  lead  him  forth, 
"  I  am  ready  at  any  moment,  gentlemen,  to  wait  on  you." 
Though  his  face  \vas  of  deadly  paleness,  its  features  were 
tranquil  and  calm ;  his  beauty  shone  with  an  unnatural 
distinctness  that  awed  the  hearts  of  the  vulgar,  and  his  man 
ners  and  air  were  as  easy  as  though  he  was  going  to  a  ball 
room  rather  than  the  grave. 

The  spot  fixed  for  the  closing  scene  was  in  an  open  field 

belonging  to  the  owner  of  the  house  wherein  he  was  detained, 

and  on  an  eminence  that  commands  an  extended  view.     It 

was  within  a  mile,  and  in  open  sight  of  Washington's  quar- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  III. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  EXECUTION.  393 

ters.  Here  the  lofty  gibbet  was  erected,  and  the  shallow 
grave  of  three  or  four  feet  depth  was  digged.  The  office  of 
hangman,  always  an  odious  employment,  was  perhaps  on  this 
occasion  more  than  usually  so.  None  of  our  soldiers  under 
took  it.  One  Strickland,  a  tory  of  Ramapo  Valley,  was  in 
our  hands  at  the  time.  His  threatened  fate  may  have  been 
hard  :  his  years  were  not  many  ;  and  by  the  price  of  freedom 
he  was  procured  to  take  on  himself  the  necessary  but  revolt 
ing  character.  Under  an  elaborate  disguise,  he  probably 
hoped  to  go  through  the  scene,  if  not  unnoticed,  at  least 
unknown. 

Besides  the  officers  that  were  always  in  the  chamber,  six 
sentinels  kept  watch  by  night  and  by  day  over  every  aper 
ture  of  the  building  ;  and  if  hope  of  escape  ever  rose  in 
Andre's  breast,  ifr  could  not  have  developed  into  even  the 
vaguest  expectation.  To  the  idea  of  suicide  as  a  means  of 
avoiding  his  doom  he  never  descended.  The  noon  of  this 
day  was  the  hour  appointed  for  the  execution ;  and  at  half 
an  hour  before,  the  cortege  set  forth.  Andre  walked  arm-in 
arm  between  two  subalterns ;  each,  it  is  said,  with  a  drawn 
sword  in  the  opposite  hand.  A  captain's  command  of  thirty 
or  forty  men  marched  immediately  about  these,  while  an 
outer  guard  of  five  hundred  infantry  environed  the  whole 
and  formed  a  hollow  square  around  the  gibbet  within  which 
no  one  save  the  officers  on  duty  and  the  provost-marshal's 
men  were  suffered  to  enter.  An  immense  multitude  ,was 
however  assembled  on  all  sides  to  witness  the  spectacle,  and 
every  house  along  the  way  was  thronged  with  eager  gazers ; 
that  only  of  Washington  excepted.  Here  the  shutters  were 
drawn,  and  no  man  was  visible  but  the  two  sentries  that 
paced  to  and  fro  before  the  door.  Neither  the  Chief  himself 
nor  his  staff  were  present  with  the  troops ;  a  circumstance 
which  was  declared  by  our  people  and  assented  to  by  Andre 
as  evincing  a  laudable  decorum.  But  almost  every  field 
officer  in  our  army  with  Greene  at  their  head  led  the  proces 
sion  on  horseback :  and  a  number  followed  the  prisoner  on 


394  LIFE  OF  MAJOR 

foot,  while  the  outer  guard,  stretching  in  single  file  on  either 
side  and  in  front  and  rear,  prevented  the  concourse  from 
crowding  in.  In  addition  to  all  those  who  came  in  from  the 
country-side,  it  is  unlikely  that  many  of  the  army  who  could 
contrive  to  be  present  missed  the  sight.  Every  eye  was 
fixed  on  the  prisoner ;  and  every  face  wore  such  an  aspect 
of  melancholy  and  gloom  that  the  impression  produced  on 
some  of  our  officers  was  not  only  affecting  but  awful. 

Keeping  pace  with  the  melancholy  notes  of  the  dead- 
march,  the  procession  passed  along :  no  member  of  it  ap 
parently  less  troubled  than  he  whose  conduct  was  its  cause 
and  whose  death  was  its  object.*  In  the  beautiful  Orientalism 
of  Sir  William  Jones,  he  dying  only  smiled  while  around 
him  grieved.  His  heart  told  him  that  a  life  honorably  spent 
in  the  pursuit  of  glory  would  not  leave  his  name  to  be  en 
rolled  among  those  of  the  ignoble  or  guilty  many :  and  his 
face  bespoke  the  serenity  of  an  approving  and  undismayed 
conscience.  From  time  to  time,  as  he  caught  the  eye  of  an 
acquaintance,  —  and  especially  to  the  officers  of  the  Court  of 
Enquiry,  —  he  tendered  the  customary  civilities  of  recogni 
tion,  and  received  their  acknowledgments  with  composure 
and  grace.  It  seems  that  up  to  this  moment  he  was  per 
suaded  that  he  was  not  to  be  hanged,  but  to  be  shot  to  death  : 
and  the  inner  guard  in  attendance  he  took  to  be  the  firing 
party  detailed  for  the  occasion.  Not  until  the  troops  turned 
suddenly,  at  a  right  angle  with  the  course  they  had  hitherto 
followed,  and  the  gallows  rose  high  before  him,  was  he  unde 
ceived.  In  the  very  moment  of  wheeling  with  his  escort,  his 
eye  rested  on  the  ill-omened  tree ;  and  he  recoiled  and  paused. 
"Why  this  emotion,  sir?  "  asked  Smith,  who  held  one  of  his 
arms.  "  I  am  reconciled  to  my  fate,"  —  said  Andre,  clench 
ing  his  fist  and  convulsively  moving  his  arm,  —  "  but  not  to 

*  Benjamin  Abbot,  a  drum-major,  who  beat  the  dead-march  on  this  occa 
sion,  died  at  Nashua,  X.  H.,  in  1851,  aged  92.  Peter  Besan9on  who  fol 
lowed  La  Fayette  hither  from  France,  and  who  died  at  Warsaw,  New  York, 
in  1855,  was  probably  the  last  surviving  spectator. 


THE  EXECUTION.  395 

the  mode  of  it ! "  "  It  is  unavoidable,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 
He  beckoned  Tallmadge,  and  inquired  anxiously  if  he  was 
not  to  be  shot :  —  "  must  I  then  die  in  this  manner  ?  "  Being 
told  that  it  was  so  ordered  — "  How  hard  is  my  fate ! "  he 
cried;  "but  it  will  soon  be  over." 

Ascending  the  hill-side,  the  prisoner  was  brought  to  the 
gibbet,  while  the  outer  guard  secured  the  ceremony  from  in 
terruption.  During  the  brief  preparations,  his  manner  was 
nervous  and  restless  —  uneasily  rolling  a  pebble  to  and  fro 
beneath  the  ball  of  his  foot,  and  the  gland  of  his  throat  sink 
ing  and  swelling  as  though  he  choked  with  emotion.  His 
servant  who  had  followed  him  to  this  point  now  burst  forth 
with  loud  weeping  and  lamentation,  and  Andre  for  a  lit 
tle  turned  aside  and  privately  conversed  with  him.  He 
shook  hands  with  Tallmadge,  who  withdrew.  A  baggage 
wagon  was  driven  beneath  the  cross-tree,  into  which  he 
leaped  lightly,  but  with  visible  loathing;  and  throwing  his 
hat  aside,  removed  his  stock,  opened  his  shirt-collar,  and 
snatching  the  rope  from  the  clumsy  hangman,  himself  ad 
justed  it  about  his  neck.  He  could  not  conceal  his  disgust 
at  these  features  of  his  fate :  but  it  was  expressed  in  manner 
rather  than  in  language.  Then  he  bound  his  handkerchief 
over  his  eyes. 

The  order  of  execution  was  loudly  and  impressively  read 
by  our  Adjutant-General  Scammel,  who  at  its  conclusion  in 
formed  Andre  he  might  now  speak,  if  he  had  anything  to 
say.  Lifting  the  bandage  for  a  moment  from  his  eyes,  he 
bowed  courteously  to  Greene  and  the  attending  officers,  and 
said  with  firmness  and  dignity:  —  "All  I  request  of  you, 
gentlemen,  is  that  you  will  bear  witness  to  the  world  that  I 
die  like  a  brave  man."  His  last  words  murmured  in  an  un 
dertone  were,  —  "It  will  be  but  a  momentary  pang!  " 

Everything  seemed  now  ready,  when  the  commanding 
officer  on  duty  suddenly  cried  out, — 

"  His  arms  must  be  tied ! " 

The  hangman  with  a  piece  of  cord  laid  hold  of  him  to  per- 


396  LIFE   OF   MAJOR   ANDRE. 

form  this  order :  but  recoiling  from  his  touch  Andre  vehe 
mently  struck  away  the  man's  hand,  and  drew  another  hand 
kerchief  from  his  pocket  with  which  the  elbows  were  loosely 
pinioned  behind  his  back.  The  signal  was  given ;  the  wagon 
rolled  swiftly  away ;  and  almost  in  the  same  instant  he  ceased 
to  exist.  The  height  of  the  gibbet,  the  length  of  the  cord, 
and  the  sudden  shock  as  he  was  jerked  from  the  coffin-lid  on 
which  he  stood,  produced  immediate  death. 

A  minute  account  of  the  scene  is  given  by  a  soldier  who 
was  present  on  the  occasion.* 

"  I  was  at  that  time  an  artificer  in  Colonel  Jeduthan  Bald 
win's  regiment,  a  part  of  which  was  stationed  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  spot  where  Andre  suffered.  One  of  our  men 
(I  believe  his  name  was  Armstrong)  being  one  of  the  oldest 
and  best  workmen  at  his  trade  in  the  regiment,  was  selected 
to  make  his  coffin,  which  he  performed,  and  painted  black, 
agreeably  to  the  custom  in  those  times.  At  this  time  Andre 
was  confined  in  what  was  called  a  Dutch  Church,  a  small 
stone  building  with  only  one  door,  and  closely  guarded  by 
six  sentinels.  When  the  hour  appointed  for  his  execution 
arrived,  which  I  believe  was  two  o'clock  r.  M.,  a  guard  of 
three  hundred  men  were  paraded  at  the  place  of  his  confine 
ment.  A  kind  of  procession  was  formed,  by  placing  a  guard 
in  single  file  on  each  side  of  the  road.  In  front  were  a  large 
number  of  American  officers  of  high  rank  on  horseback. 
These  were  followed  by  a  wagon  containing  Andre's  coffin  ; 
then  a  large  number  of  officers  on  foot,  with  Andre  in  their 
midst.  The  procession  moved  slowly  up  a  moderately  rising 

*  Barber  and  Howe:  Hist.  Coll.  X.  J.  p.  77.  This  story  is  told  in  a 
simple  and  probable  form :  but  it  contains  some  inaccuracies  that  might 
reasonably  be  looked  for  in  the  tale  of  a  private  soldier  whose  knowledge 
of  all  save  what  he  saw  came  from  the  hearsay  of  the  camp. 

The  preceding  sketch  of  the  execution  is  collated  from  the  accounts  of 
Thacher,  Tallmadge,  and  Russell,  eye-\vitnesses  of  the  scene;  and  as  nearly 
as  possible  is  given  in  their  own  words.  Thacher,  274:  N.  E.  Mag.  vi.  303. 
Sparks' s  Arn.  255:  Irving's  \Vash.  iv.  149,  157:  MS.  Mem.  of  Russell's 
account:  Vind.  Capt.  p.  20. 


VARIOUS  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  EXECUTION.    397 

hill,  I  should  think  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  to  the  west.  On 
the  top  was  a  field  without  any  enclosure.  In  this  was  a 
very  high  gallows,  made  by  setting  up  two  poles,  or  crotches, 
and  laying  a  pole  on  the  top.  The  wagon  that  contained  the 
coffin  was  drawn  directly  under  the  gallows.  In  a  short  time 
Andre  stepped  into  the  hind  end  of  the  wagon  ;  then  on  his 
coffin  — took  off  his  hat,  and  laid  it  down —  then  placed  his 
hands  upon  his  hips,  and  walked  very  uprightly  back  and 
forth,  as  far  as  the  length  of  his  coffin  would  permit ;  at 
the  same  time  casting  his  eyes  upon  the  pole  over  his  head, 
and  the  whole  scenery  by  which  he  was  surrounded.  He 
was  dressed  in  what  I  should  call  a  complete  British  uni 
form  ;  his  coat  was  of  the  brightest  scarlet,  faced  or  trimmed 
with  the  most  beautiful  green.  His  under-clothes,  or  vest 
and  breeches,  were  bright  buff,  very  similar  to  those  worn 
by  military  officers  in  Connecticut  at  the  present  day.  He 
had  a  long  and  beautiful  head  of  hair  ;  which,  agreeably  to 
the  fashion,  was  wound  with  a  black  ribband,  and  hung  down 
his  back.  All  eyes  were  upon  him ;  and  it  is  not  believed 
that  any  officer  of  the  British  army,  placed  in  his  situation, 
would  have  appeared  better  than  this  unfortunate  man.  Not 
many  minutes  after  he  took  his  stand  upon  the  coffin,  the 
executioner  stepped  into  the  wagon,  with  a  halter  in  his 
hand,  which  he  attempted  to  put  over  the  head  and  around 
the  neck  of  Andre  ;  but  by  a  sudden  movement  of  his  hand 
this  was  prevented.  Andre  took  off  the  handkerchief  from 
his  neck,  unpinned  his  shirt-collar,  and  deliberately  took  the 
end  of  the  halter,  put  it  over  his  head,  and  placed  the  knot 
directly  under  his  right  ear,  and  drew  it  very  snugly  to  his 
neck.  He  then  took  from  his  coat-pocket  a  handkerchief, 
and  tied  it  over  his  eyes.  This  done  the  officer  that  com 
manded  (his  name  I  have  forgotten)  spoke  in  rather  a  loud 
voice,  and  said  that  his  arms  must  be  tied.  Andre  at  once 
pulled  down  the  handkerchief  he  had  just  tied  over  his  eyes, 
and  drew  from  his  pocket  a  second  one,  and  gave  it  to  the 
executioner  ;  and  then  replaced  his  handkerchief.  His  arms 


398  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

were  tied  just  above  the  elbows,  and  behind  the  back.  The 
rope  was  then  made  fast  to  the  pole  over  head.  The  wagon 
was  very  suddenly  drawn  from  under  the  gallows,  which 
together  with  the  length  of  the  rope  gave  him  a  most  tre 
mendous  swing  back  and  forth;  but  in  a  few  minutes  he 
hung  entirely  still.  During  the  whole  transaction,  he  ap 
peared  as  little  daunted  as  Mr.  John  Rogers  is  said  to  have 
been,  when  he  was  about  to  be  burnt  at  the -stake  ;  but  his 
countenance  was  rather  pale.  He  remained  hanging,  I 
should  think,  from  twenty  to  thirty  minutes  ;  and  during  that 
time  the  chambers  of  death  were  never  stiller  than  the  mul 
titude  by  which  he  was  surrounded.  Orders  were  given  to 
cut  the  rope,  and  take  him  down,  without  letting  him  fall. 
This  was  done,  and  his  body  carefully  laid  on  the  ground. 
Shortly  after,  the  guard  was  withdrawn,  and  spectators  were 
permitted  to  come  forward  and  view  the  corpse ;  but  the 
crowd  was  so  great,  that  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  get 
an  opportunity.  When  1  was  able  to  do  this,  his  coat,  vest, 
and  breeches,  were  taken  off,  and  his  body  laid  in  the  coffin, 
covered  by  some  under-clothes.  The  top  of  the  coffin  was 
not  put  on.  I  viewed  the  corpse  more  carefully  than  I  had 
ever  done  that  of  any  human  being  before.  His  head  was 
very  much  on  one  side,  in  consequence  of  the  manner  in 
wrhich  the  halter  drew  upon  his  neck.  His  face  appeared 
to  be  greatly  swollen,  and  very  black,  much  resembling  a 
high  degree  of  mortification.  It  was  indeed  a  shocking  sight 
to  behold.  There  were  at  this  time  standing  at  the  loot 
of  the  coffin,  two  young  men,  of  uncommon  short  stature. 
I  should  think  not  more  than  four  feet  high.  Their  dress 
was  the  most  gaudy  that  I  ever  beheld.  One  of  them  had 
the  clothes,  just  taken  from  Andre,  hanging  on  his  arm.  I 
took  particular  pains  to  learn  who  they  were  ;  and  was  in 
formed  that  they  were  his  servants,  sent  up  from  New  York 
to  take  his  clothes  ;  but  what  other  business  I  did  not  learn. 
"  I  now  turned  to  take  a  view  of  the  executioner,  who  was 
still  standing  by  one  of  the  posts  of  the  gallows.  I  walked 


VARIOUS  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  EXECUTION.    399 

nigh  enough  to  him  to  have  laid  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder, 
and  looked  him  directly  in  the  face.  He  appeared  to  be 
about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  his  beard  of  two  or  three 
weeks'  growth,  and  his  whole  face  covered  with  what  ap 
peared  to  me  to  be  blacking  taken  from  the  outside  of  a 
greasy  pot.  A  more  frightful-looking  being  I  never  beheld  ; 
his  whole  countenance  bespoke  him  to  be  a  n't  instrument  for 
the  business  he  had  been  doing.  Wishing  to  see  the  closing 
of  the  whole  business,  I  remained  upon  the  spot  until  scarce 
twenty  persons  were  left,  but  the  coffin  was  still  beside  the 
grave,  which  had  previously  been  dug.  I  now  returned  to 
my  tent,  with  my  mind  deeply  imbued  with  the  shocking 
scene  I  had  been  called  to  witness." 

Every  authentic  account  that  we  have  shows  how  much 
our  officers  regretted  the  necessity  of  Andre's  death,  and  how 
amply  they  fulfilled  his  parting  adjuration.  The  tears  of 
thousands,  says  Thacher,  fell  on  the  spot  where  he  lay ;  and 
no  one  refrained  from  proclaiming  his  sympathy.*  Many 
wept  openly  as  he  died ;  among  whom  it  is  recorded  (appar 
ently  on  the  testimony  of  Laune)  was  La  Fayette.  Cer 
tainly  the  marquis  bore  witness  to  the  infinite  regret  with 
which  the  fate  of  such  a  noble  and  magnanimous  character 
inspired  him.  It  was  believed  in  the  army  that  Washington's 
soul  revolted  at  the  task,  and  that  he  could  scarcely  .com 
mand  the  pen  when  he  subscribed  the  fatal  warrant.  An 
American  officer  who  was  present  and  who  brought  the  news 
to  Burgoyne's  troops  detained  at  Winchester,  asserted  that 
our  General  shed  tears  on  the  execution,  and  would  fain 
have  changed  its  mode.  Without  depending  entirely  on 
anecdotes  which,  though  of  contemporaneous  origin,  are  not 

*  While  these  pages  are  going  through  the  press,  one  of  our  most  dis 
tinguished  historical  students  and  writers  has  obliged  me  with  a  communi 
cation  respecting  Andre's  death:  —  "I  have  met  revolutionary  men  who 
were  with  him  as  sentinels  on  the  day  of  his  execution.  One,  Enos  Reynolds, 
told  me  more  than  once  the  sad  story,  as  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  '  He 
was  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  laid  my  eyes  on,'  was  one  of  his  phrases; 
and  he  said  the  men  all  around  him  were  weeping  when  he  met  his  fate  " 


400  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

supported  by  direct  evidence,  it  is  very  certain  that  no  little 
sorrow  was  felt  on  the  occasion  by  both  friends  and  foes. 
Bronson  for  instance,  whose  association  with  the  prisoner 
continued  from  his  arrest  to  the  gallows-foot,  never  recurred 
willingly  to  the  event,  nor  without  hearty  regret  and  emo 
tion.  The  highest  testimony  is  that  of  Washington.  "  Andre 
has  met  his  fate,"  wrote  he,  "and  with  that  fortitude  which 
was  to  be  expected  from  an  accomplished  man  and  gallant 
officer  : "  and  again  —  "  The  circumstances  under  which  he 
was  taken  justified  it,  and  policy  required  a  sacrifice ;  but  as 
he  was  more  unfortunate  than  criminal,  and  as  there  was 
much  in  his  character  to  interest,  while  we  yielded  to  the 
necessity  of  rigor,  we  could  not  but  lament  it."  This  was 
said  a  few  days  after  Andre's  death.  In  after-years,  though 
he  once  indeed  at  his  own  table  wrent  over  the  details  of  Ar 
nold's  defection,  Washington  is  reported  by  his  confidential 
attendants  to  have  never,  even  by  his  own  fireside,  alluded  to 
Andre's  trial  or  fate. 

Others  were  not  so  guarded,  and  of  course  a  thousand  wild 
rumors,  distorted  from  the  truth  by  political  bias,  went  flying 
over  the  land.  The  English  reports  must  have  originated  in 
part  with  the  servant  Laune,  for  they  are  early  and  in  part 
correct.  Andre's  dying  words  are  given  in  palpable  error. 
"  Remember  that  I  die  as  becomes  a  British  officer,  while 
the  m'anner  of  my  death  must  reflect  disgrace  on  your  com 
mander."  Another  account  says  that  before  signing  to  the 
hangman  to  proceed  he  thus  addressed  our  officers  :  "  As  I 
suffer  for  the  service  of  my  country,  I  must  consider  this 
hour  as  the  most  glorious  of  my  life.  Remember,  that  I  die 
as  becomes  a  British  officer,  while  the  manner  of  my  death 
must  reflect  disgrace  on  your  commander."  We  can  under 
stand  how  a  bewildered  and  grief-stricken  valet  may  have 
confused  together  the  incorrect  recollections  of  what  private 
consolatory  remarks  his  master  may  have  made  to  him,  and 
what  he  said  publicly:  but  there  was  less  excuse  for  the 
ostentatious  manner  in  which  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of 


VARIOUS  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  EXECUTION.          401 

Oct.  31,  1780,  made  Andre  exclaim  to  our  army:  "Be  my 
witnesses,  while  I  acknowledge  the  propriety  of  my  sentence, 
that  I  die  like  a  brave  man."  If  he  protested  not  against  it, 
it  is  certain  he  never  acknowledged  the  justice  of  his  fate. 
The  same  journal  however  at  other  times  gave  more  reason 
able  accounts  ;  and  thus  gratified  its  ancient  partisan  feelings 
in  a  comment  upon  Clinton's  bad  bargain:  — 

'Twas  Arnold's  post  Sir  Harry  sought; 
Arnold  ne'er  entered  in  his  thought. 
How  ends  the  bargain  ?  let  us  see ; 
The  fort  is  safe  as  safe  can  be : 
His  favorite  perforce  must  die : 
His  view's  laid  bare  to  ev'ry  eye: 
His  money's  gone  —  and  lo,  he  gains 
One  scoundrel  more  for  all  his  pains. 
Andre  was  gen'rous,  true,  and  brave  — 
And  in  his  place  he  buys  a  knave. 
'Tis  sure  ordain'd  that  Arnold  cheats 
All  those  of  course  with  whom  he  treats. 
Now  let  the  Devil  suspect  a  bite, 
Or  Arnold  cheats  him  of  his  right. 

The  sorrow  and  indignation  of  Andre's  friends  gave  occa 
sion  to  other  unfounded  charges.  At  Southampton,  where 
his  family  connections  extended,  it  was  reported  that  Clinton 
solicited  "  as  a  singular  favor,  after  his  dear  friend  and  com 
panion  should  be  hung,  the  body  might  be  sent  to  him  —  but 
Washington  refused.  Clinton  then  sent  again,  that  since  the 
sentence  was  to  bury  the  body  under  the  gallows,  it  might 
be  taken  up  and  brought  to  New  York,  there  to  be  interred 
with  the  military  honors  due  to  so  brare  and  accomplished  a 
young  man.  This  Washington  also  refused." 

This  silly  tale  is  sufficiently  exposed  by  Sir  Henry's  own 
statement  that  he  knew  not  of  his  Adjutant's  being  hanged 
till  the  arrival  of  Laune  with  his  master's  baggage  told  him 
all  was  over.  When  the  burial  at  the  gibbet's  foot  was  about 
to  be  made,  the  man  had  demanded  Andre's  uniform,  which 
was  accordingly  removed  and  given  him.  The  corpse  was 
then  laid  in  earth,  and  no  monument  but  the  usual  cairn, 
26 


402  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

such  as  rose  over  the  spot  where  Gustavus  fell  at  Lutzen 
"  for  liberty  of  conscience,"  marked  the  solitary  grave.  The 
surrounding  field  was  cultivated,  but  the  plough  still  shunned 
the  place  :  for  it  was  customary  in  this  region  for  the  laborers 
in  their  'tillage  to  spare  the  soil  that  covered  a  soldier ;  and 
as  early  as  1778  the  fields  of  Long  Island  were  noticed  to  be 
checkered  over  with  patches  of  wild  growth  that  showed 
where  men  lay  who  were  slain  in  the  battle  there. 

With  generous  sensibility  Colonel  William  S.  Smith  of 
our  army  embraced  the  opportunity  of  purchasing  the  watch 
that  the  captors  had  taken.  It  was  sold  for  their  benefit  for 
thirty  guineas.  He  bought  it ;  and  mindful  of  the  tender 
affection  with  which  Andre  had  been  heard  to  speak  of  his 
mother  and  sisters  in  England,  sent  it  in  to  Robertson  to  be 
transmitted  to  these  ladies.  The  unfortunate  man's  Will 
testifies  with  what  regard  his  whole  domestic  circle  was  held. 
It  was  sworn  to  before  Carey  Ludlow,  Surrogate  of  New 
York,  and  admitted  to  probate  October  12th,  1780. 

"  The  following  is  my  last  will  and  testament,  and  I  ap 
point  as  executors  thereto  Mary  Louisa  Andre,  my  mother  ; 
David  Andre,  my  uncle  ;  Andrew  Girardot,  my  uncle  ;  John 
Lewis  Andre,  my  uncle.  To  each  of  the  above  executors  I 
give  fifty  pounds.  I  give  to  Mary  Hannah  Andre,  my  sister, 
seven  hundred  pounds.  I  give  to  Louisa  Catharine  Andre, 
my  sister,  seven  hundred  pounds.  I  give  to  William  Lewis 
Andre,  my  brother,  seven  hundred  pounds.  But  the  condi 
tion  on  which  I  give  the  above-mentioned  sums  to  my  afore 
said  brother  and  sisters  are  that  each  of  them  ^hall  pay  to 
Mary  Louisa  Andre,  my  mother,  the  sum  of  ten  pounds 
yearly  during  her  life.  I  give  to  Walter  Ewer,  Jr.,  of  Dyers 
Court,  Aldermanbury,  one  hundred  pounds.  I  give  to  John 
Ewer,  Jr.,  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  one  hundred  pounds.  I  de>ire 
a  ring,  value  fifty  pounds,  to  be  given  to  my  friend,  Peter 
Bois>ier,  of  the  llth  Dragoons.  I  desire  that  Walter  Ewer, 
Jr.,  of  Dyers  Court,  Aldermanbury,  have  the  inspection  of  my 


ANDRE'S  WILL.  403 

papers,  letters,  manuscripts.  I  mean  that  he  have  the  first 
inspection  of  them,  with  liberty  to  destroy  or  detain  whatever 
he  thinks  proper ;  and  I  desire  my  watch  to  be  given  to  him. 
And  I  lastly  give  and  bequeath  to  my  brother  John  Lewis 
Andre  the  residue  of  all  my  effects  whatsoever.  Witness 
my  hand  and  seal,  Staten  Island,  in  the  province  of  New 
York,  North  America,  7th  June,  1777. 

JOHN  ANDRE. 
Captain  in  the  26th  Regiment  of  Foot. 

N.  B.  The  currency  alluded  to  in  this  my  will  is  sterling 
money  of  Great  Britain.  I  desire  nothing  more  than  my 
wearing  apparel  to  be  sold  by  public  auction." 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  news  of  the  execution 
was  received  at  New  York  in  sorrow  and  in  anger.  Joshua 
Smith  says :  "  No  language  can  describe  the  mingled  sensa 
tions  of  horror,  grief,  sympathy,  and  revenge,  that  agitated 
the  whole  garrison ;  a  silent  gloom  overspread  the  general 
countenance ;  the  whole  army,  and  citizens  of  the  first  dis 
tinction,  went  into  mourning."  Miss  Seward  also  mentions 
the  signs  of  grief  the  troops  displayed  in  their  apparel ;  and 
in  November  a  London  account  censures  Clinton  for  not  em 
ploying  the  heated  animosity  of  his  men  to  strike  an  avengiqg 
blow.  "  The  troops  at  New  York  on  hearing  of  his  execu 
tion  raised  such  an  outcry  for  vengeance,  and  to  be  led  to 
the  attack  of  Washington's  camp,  that  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  could  hardly  keep  them  within  the  bounds  of  disci 
pline  :  and  many  letters  mention,  that  as  Sir  Henry  had  an 
army  at  least  equal  to  Washington's,  he  ought  to  have  in 
dulged  them  :  for  the  determined  spirit  with  which  they  were 
actuated  would  have  made  them  invincible  against  any  su 
periority.  On  this  account  the  military  critics  say  he  has 
given  another  convincing  proof  that  he  is  a  general  who  does 
not  know  when  to  act.  After  this,  few  rebel  prisoners  will 


404  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

be  taken.     The  universal  cry  of  the  soldiers  at  New  York  is, 
REMEMBER  ANDR£ ! " 

But  if  Clinton  would  not  expose  his  men  to  a  doubtful 
enterprise,  he  was  not  unmindful  either  of  the  fame  or  the 
last  wishes  of  his  friend.  By  public  orders  his  memory  was 
released  from  any  imputation  that  might  arise  from  the  man 
ner  of  his  death. 

Head- Quarters,  New  York,  8  Oct.  1780.  The  Comman 
der  in  Chief  does  with  infinite  regret  inform  the  Army  of  the 
death  of  .the  Adjutant  General  Major  Andre. 

The  unfortunate  fate  of  this  Officer  calls  upon  the  Com 
mander  in  Chief  to  declare  his  opinion  that  he  ever  considered 
Major  Andre  as  a  Gentleman,  as  well  as  in  the  line  of  his 
military  profession,  of  the  highest  integrity  and  honor,  and 
incapable  of  any  base  action  or  unworthy  conduct. 

Major  Andre's  death  is  very  severely  felt  by  the  Com 
mander  in  Chief,  as  it  assuredly  will  be  by  the  Army  ;  and 
must  prove  a  real  loss  to  his  Country  and  to  His  Majesty's 
service. 

How  far  the  army  felt  their  loss  may  be  gathered  from 
Simcoe's  orders  to  his  own  regiment,  by  the  officers  and  men 
of  which  Andre  was  personally  known.  He  commanded 
them  to  wear  for  the  future  black  and  white  feathers  as 
mourning  for  a  soldier  "  whose  superior  integrity  and  un 
common  ability  did  honour  to  his  country  and  to  human 
nature.  The  Queen's  Rangers  will  never  sully  their  glory 
in  the  field  by  any  undue  severity :  they  will,  as  they  have 
ever  done,  consider  those  to  be  under  their  protection  who 
are  in  their  power,  and  will  strike  with  reluctance  at  their 
unhappy  fellow-subjects,  who,  by  a  series  of  the  basest  arti 
fices,  have  been  seduced  from  their  allegiance  ;  but  it  is  the 
Lt.  Colonel's  most  ardent  hope,  that  on  the  close  of  some 
decisive  victory,  it  will  be  the  regiment's  fortune  to  secure 


FEELINGS  EXCITED  BY  THE  EXECUTION.  405 

the  murderers  of  Major  Andre,  for  the  vengeance  due  to  an 
injured  nation  and  an  insulted  army."  * 

In  England,  the  feeling  was  bitter  and  lasting.  Despite 
the  isolated  and  private  protests  of  unim  passioned  reason  or 
political  prejudice,  panegyric  was  lavishly  bestowed  on  "  the 
English  Mutius  "  ;  and  execration  as  liberally  wasted  on  his 
slayers.  Revenge  was  freely  spoken  of,  and  it  was  even 
supposed  in  some  quarters  that  the  authorities  would  not 
hesitate  to  strain  a  point  to  come  by  it.  "  The  Ministry  will 
be  glad  to  have  vengeance  for  Major  Andre,"  quoth  Lutterloh 
(a  character  who  earned  a  dirty  subsistence  by  betraying  all 
who  trusted  him,  whether  English  or  French),  as  he  rattled 
the  blood-money  for  which  he  had  just  sworn  away  the  life  of 
the  Baron  de  la  Motte,  a  French  spy  at  London.  But  gov 
ernment  was  belied  by  such  language. 

Trumbull  the  artist  was  at  the  time  studying  his  profession 
at  London,  whither  he  had  come  after  a  failure  to  negotiate 
some  Connecticut  public  securities  on  the  continent.  Con 
sidering  that  his  father  was  the  governor  of  his  native  state 
and  an  active  whig  through  all  the  war ;  and  that  he  himself 
had  but  recently  resigned  from  the  army,  his  proceeding  was 
suspicious  in  the  extreme.  Like  Andre,  he  had  been  aide 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  and  also  deputy-adjutant  general: 

*  Simcoe's  Mil.  Jour.  152.  A  gentleman  of  distinction  thus  wrote  at  the 
time  in  relation  to  the  universal  topic  of  conversation :  —  "I  never  heard 
that  Mr.  Andre  was  to  be  married  to  Miss  K .  Two  lovers  she  has  un 
doubtedly  had  since  her  reign  ;  Mr.  D ,  and  the  young  officer  who  fell 

at  Germantown.  Since  that  the  world  has  never  left  her  idle.  The  first 
time  I  saw  her,  I  was  told  she  would  soon  be  married  to  Lord  Drummond, 
and  so  I  entered  it  in  my  book:  soon  afterwards,  to  an  officer  in  the  N.  Y. 
volunteers,  whom  I  forget:  to  two  or  three,  after  that: — but  she  still  re 
mains  in  '  single  blessedness.'  I  never  heard  of  Andre's  letter  to  his 
mother,  nor  of  the  picture.  One  picture  was  certainly  found  in  his  lug 
gage,  which  his  mind  had  been  sufficiently  at  ease  to  perform:  a  striking 
view  up  the  North  River.  The  ladies  here  went  into  mourning  on  his 
death :  his  character  was  delineated  and  his  fate  lamented  in  general  orders: 
an  unaffected  gloom  hung  over  the  army  for  some  days;  and  never  was 
Mr.  W so  execrated,  as  for  being  accessory  to  his  unmerited  execu 
tion."— MS.  Letter,  New  York,  Nov.  8, 1780. 


406  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

and  it  was  thought  he  would  make  a  capital  pendant  to  the 
Englishman.  He  was  at  once  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
treasonable  practices  and  thrown  into  gaol.  By  his  own 
account  he  was  treated  with  humanity,  and  Mr.  West  rep 
resented  his  case  to  the  king.  "  I  pity  him  from  my  soul," 
said  the  monarch.  — "  But,  West,  go  to  Mr.  Trumbull  imme 
diately,  and  pledge  to  him  my  royal  promise  that  in  the 
worst  possible  event  of  the  law  his  life  shall  be  safe."  Really 
Trumbull  had  committed  no  offence  since  his  arrival :  but  as 
he  had  no  right  to  be  in  England  at  all  save  as  a  prisoner,  it 
was  seven  months  ere  he  was  released  on  surety  to  leave  the 
kingdom  and  not  return.  And  in  October,  1782,  a  travelling 
American,  awakened  as  he  slumbered  in  his  carriage  by  the 
shouts  of  a  party  of  armed  horsemen  who  swore  to  hang 
some  object  of  their  wrath,  avows  that  his  first  impression 
was  that  he,  though  in  no  way  connected  with  Andre's  death, 
was  now  to  expiate  it  by  his  own.  It  is  to  the  pervading 
interest  that  attached  itself  to  Andre's  story,  and  the,  roman 
tic  character  of  his  career,  that  the  origin  of  the  ghost-stories 
about  him  may  be  attributed.  There  is  yet  another  con 
nected  with  him  : 

"  Miss  H.  B.  was  on  a  visit  to  Miss  Andre,  and  being 
very  intimate  with  the  latter,  shared  her  bed.  One  night 
she  was  awakened  by  the  violent  sobs  of  her  companion,  and 
upon  entreating  to  know  the  cause,  she  said,  '  I  have  seen 
my  dear  brother,  and  he  has  been  taken  prisoner.'  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  inform  the  reader  that  Maj.  Andre  was 
then  with  the  British  army,  during  the  heat  of  the  American 
war.  Miss  B.  soothed  her  friend,  and  both^  fell  asleep,  when 
Miss  Andre  once  more  started  up,  exclaiming,  '  They  are 
trying  him  as  a  spy,'  and  she  described  the  nature  of  the 
court,  the  proceedings  of  the  judge  and  prisoner,  with  the 
greatest  minuteness.  Once  more  the  poor  sister's  terrors 
were  calmed  by  her  friend's  tender  representations,  but  a 
third  time  she  awoke  screaming  that  they  were  hanging  him 
as  a  spy  on  a  tree  and  in  his  regimentals,  with  many  other 


HONORS   BESTOWED  ON  ANDRE'S   MEMORY.         407 

circumstances  !  —  There  was  no  more  sleep  for  the  friends  ; 
they  got  up  and  entered  each  in  her  own  pocket-book  the 
particulars  stated  by  the  terror-stricken  sister,  with  the  dates  ; 
both  agreed  to  keep  the  source  of  their  own  presentiment 
and  fears  from  the  poor  mother,  fondly  hoping  they  were 
built  on  the  fabric  of  a  vision.  But,  alas  !  as  soon  as  news, 
in  those  days,  could  cross  the  Atlantic,  the  fatal  tidings  came, 
and  to  the  deep  awe  as  well  as  sad  grief  of  the  young  la 
dies,  every  circumstance  was  exactly  imparted  to  them  as 
had  been  shadowed  forth  in  the  fond  sister's  sleeping  fancy, 
and  had  happened  on  the  very  day  preceding  the  night  of 
her  dream  !  The  writer  thinks  this  anecdote  has  not  been 
related  by  Miss  Seward,  Dr.  Darwin,  or  the  Edgeworths, 
father  and  daughter,  who  have  all  given  to  the  public  many- 
interesting  events  in  the  brilliant  but  brief  career  of  Major 
Andre." 

It  is  creditable  to  the  British  government  that  in  con 
sideration  of  the  magnitude  of  Andre's  attempted  service, 
and  the  disastrous  fate  with  which  his  efforts  were  crowned, 
nothing  was  wanting  to  testify  either  its  care  for  his  fame 
or  its  respect  for  his  wishes.  On  the  13th  November  Cap 
tain  St.  George,  Clinton's  aide,  delivered  that  general's  de 
spatches  of  the  12th  October  to  Lord  George  Germain. 

"  The  unexpected  and  melancholy  turn,  which  my  negotia 
tion  with  General  Arnold  took  with  respect  to  my  Adjutant 
General,  has  filled  my  mind  with  the  deepest  concern.  He 
was  an  active,  intelligent,  and  useful  officer;  and  a  young 
gentleman  of  the  most  promising  hopes.  Therefore,  as  he 
has  unfortunately  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  his  great  zeal  for  the 
King's  service,  I  judged  it  right  to  consent  to  his  wish,  inti 
mated  to  me  in  his  letter  of  the  29th  Sept.,  of  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  inclose  your  lordship  a  copy,  that  his  Company 
which  he  purchased  should  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  his 
mother  and  sisters.  But  I  trust,  my  lord,  that  your  lordship 
will  think  Major  Andre's  misfortune  still  calls  for  some 
further  support  to  his  family,  and  I  beg  leave  to  make  it  my 


408  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

humble  request,  that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  recom 
mend  them  in  the  strongest  manner  to  the  King,  for  some 
beneficial  and  distinguishing  mark  of  His  Majesty's  favor."  * 
What  was  asked  was  granted.  The  king  is  said  to  have 
instantly  ordered  a  thousand  guineas  from  the  privy  purse  to 
be  sent  to  Mrs.  Andre,  and  an  annual  pension  of  £300  to  be 
settled  on  her  for  life  with  reversion  to  her  children  or  the 
survivor  of  them  :  and  after  knighthood  was  proffered,  on  the 
24th  March,  1781,  in  memory  of  his  brother's  services,  the 
dignity  of  a  baronetcy  of  Great  Britain  was  conferred  upon 
Captain  William  Lewis  Andre  of  the  2Gth  Foot,  and  his 
heirs  male  forever.f  A  stately  cenotaph  in  Westminster 
Abbey  also  preserved  the  remembrance  of  the  life  and  death 
of  Major  Andre.  Hither  Arnold  was  once  observed  to  lead 
his  wife  and  to  peruse  with  her  the  inscription  that  referred 
to  the  most  important  scenes  in  his  own  career. 

Forty  years  later,  the  pomp  and  ceremony  with  which  the 
remains  of  the  brave  Montgomery  were  publicly  brought 
from  Canada  to  New  York,  called  the  attention  of  the  British 
consul  at  that  city  to  the  fact  that  the  dust  of  another  who 
too  had  borne  the  king's  commission,  and  whose  first  cap 
tivity  had  graced  Montgomery's  first  triumph,  still  filled  an 
unhonored  grave  in  a  foreign  land.  He  communicated  with 
the  Duke  of  York,  Commander  of  the  Forces,  and  it  was 

*  MS.  SirH.  Clinton  to  Lord  G.  Germain  (Separate)  New  York,  12  Oct. 
1780,  S.  P.  0.  On  the  llth,  Clinton  wrote  the  general  story  of  his  deal 
ings  with  Arnold.  "  The  particulars  respecting  the  ill-fated  ending  of  this 
serious,  I  may  say  great  affair,  shall  be  detailed  in  a  Narrative  —  wherein 
all  papers  and  letters  connected  with  it  shall  be  inserted."  This  Narrative 
has  not  been  printed,  but  I  have  freely  used  all  its  facts  in  the  text  of  this 
work, 

t  A  tombstone  in  Bathhampton  church-yard,  near  Bath,  has  this  inscrip 
tion:  "Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  Louisa  Catharine  Andre5,  late  of  the 
Circus,  Bath:  Obit.  Dec.  25,  1835,  aged  81.  Also  of  Mary  Hannah 
Andre,  her  sister,  who  died  March  3,  1845,  aged  93  years."  Sir  William 
Lewis  Andre",  the  brother,  married:  and  surviving  his  son  of  the  same 
name,  who  was  a  director  of  the  London  Assurance  Company,  died  at  Dean's 
Leaze,  Hants,  llth  Nov.  1802,  when  the  title  became  extinct. 


ANDRE'S  REMAINS  REMOVED  TO  ENGLAND.    409 

decided  to  remove  Andre's  corpse  to  England.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Demarat  who  now  owned  the  ground,  gave  ready  assent  to 
the  consul's  proposals.  "  His  intentions  had  become  known," 
says  an  American  writer  — "  some  human  brute  —  some 
Christian  dog  —  had  sought  to  purchase  or  to  rent  the  field 
of  Mr.  Demarat,  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  money  for  per 
mission  to  remove  these  relics.  But  the  good  man  and  true 
rejected  the  base  proposal,  and  offered  every  facility  in  his 
power."  On  Friday,  August  10th,  1821,  at  eleven  A.  M., 
the  work  was  commenced  not  without  fear  that  it  would  be 
in  vain  :  for  vague  whispers  went  around  that,  years  before, 
the  grave  was  despoiled.  At  the  depth  of  three  feet,  the 
spade  struck  the  coffin-lid,  and  the  perfect  skeleton  was  soon 
exposed  to  view.  Nothing  tangible  remained  but  the  bones 
and  a  few  locks  of  the  once  beautiful  hair,  together  with  the 
leather  cord  that  had  bound  the  queue,  and  which  was  sent 
by  Mr.  Buchanan  to  the  sisters  of  the  deceased.  An  atten 
tive  crowd  of  both  sexes,  some  of  whom  had  probably  beheld 
the  execution,  was  present. 

"  The  farmers  who  came  to  witness  the  interesting  cere 
mony  generally  evinced  the  most  respectful  tenderness  for 
the  memory  of  the  unfortunate  dead,  and  many  of  the  chil 
dren  wept.  A  few  idlers,  educated  by  militia  training  and 
Fourth  of  July  declamation,  began  to  murmur  that  the  mem 
ory  of  General  Washington  was  insulted  by  any  respect 
shown  to  the  remains  of  Andre  ;  but  the  offer  of  a  treat 
lured  them  to  the  tavern,  where  they  soon  became  too  drunk 
to  guard  the  character  of  Wa^iington.  It  was  a  beautiful 
day,  and  these  disturbing  spirits  being  removed,  the  impres 
sive  ceremony  proceeded  in  solemn  silence."  * 

If  this  anecdote  is  true,  these  ruffling  swaggerers  were  all 
who  did  not  cheerfully  encourage  the  proceedings.  Ladies 

*  So  repeats  Mrs.  Childs  (Letters  from  New  York),  who  brought  to  the 
scene  a  solemn  conviction  that  Andrews  death  was  a  "cool,  deliberate 
murder,"  and  whose  account  of  what  she  saw  and  heard  is  tinctured  with 
this  feeling. 


410  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRlL 

sent  garlands  to  decorate  the  bier :  even  the  old  woman  who 
kept  the  turnpike-gate  threw  it  open  free  to  all  that  went  and 
came  on  this  errand  ;  and  six  young  women  of  New  York 
united  in  a  poetical  address  that  accompanied  the  myrtle- 
tree  they  sent  with  the  body  to  England. 

The  bones  were  carefully  uplifted,  and  placed  in  a  costly 
sarcophagus  of  mahogany,  richly  decorated  witli  gold  and 
hung  with  black  and  crimson  velvet ;  and  so  borne  to  New 
York  to  be  placed  on  board  the  Phaeton  frigate  which,  by  a 
happy  significancy,  so  far  as  her  name  was  concerned,  had 
been  selected  for  their  transportation  to  England.  Two 
cedars  that  grew  hard  by,  and  a  peach-tree  bestowed  by  some 
kind  woman's  hand  to  mark  the  grave,  (the  roots  of  which 
had  pierced  the  coffin  and  turned  themselves  in  a  fibrous 
network  about  the  dead  man's  skull,)  were  also  taken  up. 
The  latter  was  replanted  in  the  King's  Gardens,  behind 
Carlton  House. 

In  his  account  of  the  exhumation  the  consul  in  warm 
phrase  expressed  his  conviction  that  the  body  had  been 
robbed  of  its  clothing  by  our  people.  It  was  reasonable 
that  he  should  think  so:  for  Thacher,  an  eye-witness  and 
minute  chronicler  of  the  transaction,  believed  positively  that 
Andre  was  buried  in  his  uniform  ;  of  which  not  a  vestige, 
not  a  solitary  button,  was  found  when  the  grave  was  opened. 
But  there  is  abundant  contemporaneous  proof,  American  and 
English,  that  Laune  obtained  his  master's  regimentals  after 
he  was  put  in  the  shell,  but  before  he  was  laid  in  earth.  In 
correcting  his  own  error.  Thacher  set  Buchanan  right.  In 
gratitude  for  what  was  done,  the  Duke  of  York  caused  a 
gold-mounted  snuff-box  of  the  wood  of  one  of  the  cedars  that 
grew  at  the  grave  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Demarat ;  to  whom  the 
Misses  Andre  also  presented  a  silver  goblet,  and  to  Mr. 
Buchanan  a  silver  standish. 

A  withered  tree,  a  heap  of  stones,  mark  the  spot  where 
the  plough  never  enters  and  whence  Andre's  remains  were 
removed.  The  sarcophagus  came  safely  across  the  sea,  and 


BURIED  IX  WESTMINSTER  ABBEY.  411 

forty-one  years  and  more  after  they  had  been  laid  by  the 
Hudson  its  contents  were  reinterred  in  a  very  private  manner 
hard  by  the  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey.  The  Dean 
of  Westminster  superintended  the  religious  offices,  while 
Major-General  Sir  Herbert  Taylor  appeared  for  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  Mr.  Locker,  Secretary  to  Greenwich  Hospital, 
for  the  sisters  of  the  deceased. 

In  the  south  aisle  of  the  Abbey  wherein  sleeps  so  much 
of  the  greatness  ancj  the  glory  of  England  stands  Andre's 
monument.  It  is  of  statuary  marble  carved  by  Van  Gelder. 
It  presents  a  sarcophagus  on  a  moulded  panelled  base  and 
plinth  ;  the  panel  of  which  is  thus  inscribed  :  "  Sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Major  John  Andre,  \vho,  raised  by  his  merit,  at 
an  early  period  of  life,  to  the  rank  of  Adjutant-General  of 
the  British  forces  in  America,  and,  employed  in  an  important 
but  hazardous  enterprise,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  his  zeal  for  his 
King  and  Country,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1780,  aged  twenty- 
nine,  universally  beloved  and  esteemed  by  the  army  in  which 
he  served,  and  lamented  even  by  his  foes.  His  gracious 
Sovereign,  King  George  III.,  has  caused  this  monument  to 
be  erected." 

On  the  plinth  these  words  are  added  :  "  The  remains  of 
Major  John  Andre  were,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1821,  re 
moved  from  Tappan  by  James  Buchanan,  Esq.,  his  majesty's 
consul  at  New  York,  under  instructions  from  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Duke  of  York,  and  with  permission  of  the  Dean 
and  Chapter,  finally  deposited  in  a  grave  contiguous  to  this 
monument,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1821." 

The  monument  stands  seven  and  a  half  feet  high  in  relief 
against  the  wall,  beneath  the  sixth  window  of  the  south 
aisle.  The  projecting  figures  of  the  sarcophagus  represent 
a  group  in  which  Washington  and  Andre  are  conspicuous : 
the  former  in  the  act  of  receiving  from  a  flag  of  truce  a  letter 
which  is  variously  said  to  signify  that  in  which  the  prisoner 
petitioned  to  be  shot,  and  more  reasonably,  the  demand  of 
Clinton  for  his  release.  Britannia  with  a  very  lugubrious 


412  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    ANDR& 

lion  reposes  on  the  top  of  the  cenotaph.     On  the  whole,  the 
work  is  not  a  triumph  of  the  sculptor's  art. 

Hard  by  the  spot  are  the  monuments  of  Roger  Townshend 
and  of  Howe,  whose  lives  were  lost  in  the  same  scenes  where 
Andre  first  lost  his  liberty  :  and  those  of  Sir  Cloudesley 
Shovel,  Wolfe,  Warren,  Stuart,  and  other  British  warriors 
whose  history  is  interwoven  with  that  of  America,  rise  under 
the  same  roof.  The  covert  sneer  with  which  Addison  refers 
to  many  of  the  tombs  in  this  Abbey  can  have  no  just  relation 
to  the  funeral  honors  of  such  characters  as  these.  "  They  put 
me  in  mind  of  several  persons  mentioned  in  battles  of  heroic 
poems,  who  have  sounding  names  given  them  for  no  other 
reason  but  that  they  may  be  killed,  and  are  celebrated  for 
nothing  but  being  knocked  on  the  head."  A  man  can  hardly 
do  more  or  better  than  die  for  his  country. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


Considerations  upon  the  Justice  of  Andre's  Sentence. —  Conflicting  Opin 
ions. —  Character  of  our  Generals. —  Keflections  on  Andre's  Fate. 


WAS  the  condemnation  of  Andre  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  the  laws  of  war  ?  was  his  execution  justifiable  ? 
are  questions  that  fourscore  years  have  left  where  they  were 
at  the  beginning.  English  authors  have  acquiesced  in  the 
propriety  of  the  sentence  ;  an  American  writer  has  pro 
nounced  it  a  deliberate  murder ;  yet  most  of  these  appear 
to  have  known  very  inaccurately  the  facts  of  a  case  upon 
which  they  have,  sometimes  with  much  elegance  and  vigor 
expressed  a  decided  opinion.  Winterbotham  an  English 
clergyman,  Hinton  a  painstaking  annalist,  are  satisfied  that 
all  was  done  lawfully.  Coke  was  an  officer  of  the  45th  ;  yet 
he  publishes  the  belief  that  the  rules  of  war  were  not  in 
fringed.  Romilly's  opinion,  though  that  of  a  young  man  not 
yet  admitted  to  the  bar,  is  of  more  weight :  he  wrote  while 
the  heat  occasioned  by  the  first  intelligence  was  at  its  height, 
and  with  good  information ;  but  he  justifies  the  sentence  on 
the  plea  that,  though  Andre  was  taken  on  neutral  ground,  he 
had  nevertheless  been  in  our  lines  in  disguise,  and  the  safe- 
conduct  with  which  he  was  armed  was  issued  by  one  whom 
he  knew  to  be  a  traitor,  for  no  other  end  than  to  bring  that 
treason  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Mackinnon,  of  the  Cold- 
streams,  is  also  clear  that  Andre  was  a  spy  and  entitled  to 
his  fate :  and  this  gentleman's  rank,  and  the  summary  of 
facts  on  which  he  gives  his  judgment,  add  additional  conse 
quence  to  his  language.  Locker's  decision  is  particularly 
interesting.  He  was  the  personal  friend  of  Andre's  sisters, 
and  represented  them  at  the  reinterment  in  Westminster 


414  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDR& 

Abbey.  He  had  therefore  peculiar  opportunities  of  hearing 
evidence  in  favor  of  Andre.  Immediately  after  the  cere 
mony,  he  published  his  conviction  that  Andre's  conduct  had 
undoubtedly  fixed  on  him  the  character  and  exposed  him  to 
the  punishment  of  a  spy.  He  also  justified  Washington's 
inflexibility  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  ab 
solute  necessity  to  the  American  cause  of  a  terrible  example. 
Other  critics  of  less  note  subscribe  to  these  general  senti 
ments,  or  modify  their  decrees  to  the  idea  of  Charles  Lamb, 
when  he  speaks  of  "  the  amiable  spy,  Major  Andre."  And 
the  books  of  Miss  Seward  and  Mrs.  Childs,  published  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  ocean,  fully  justify  Tallmadge's  declara 
tion,  that  had  the  verdict  been  left  to  a  jury  of  ladies  the 
prisoner  was  sure  of  an  acquittal. 

In  America  there  has  been  but  one  leading  opinion  ex 
pressed  on  the  subject.  The  action  of  its  authorities  has 
never  been  impugned  save  in  the  instance  adverted  to  above. 
It  is  true  that  the  majority  of  writers  have  not  investigated 
the  point :  but  their  inferences  entirely  coincide  with  those 
of  Marshall,  Sparks,  Biddle,  and  Irving,  who  were  compe 
tent  as  any  in  the  land  to  arrive  at  just  conclusions.  And  it 
is  to  be  remarked  that  the  Englishmen  who,  by  the  course 
of  events  or  their  own  application,  have  attained  a  degree  of 
information  on  the  question  commensurate  with  that  possessed 
by  our  own  chief  historical  authorities,  are  not  less  decided, 
albeit  widely  differing  in  their  determinations.  Let  us  first 
look  at  the  views  of  such  as  by  convenience  of  time  and 
place  got  their  impressions,  as  it  were,  at  the  fountain-head. 

Of  the  conclusions  of  the  leaders  of  our  own  army,  little 
need  be  said.  The  finding  of  the  court  of  inquiry  and  its 
confirmation  by  Washington  sufficiently  indicate  the  sense 
of  our  generals.  That  of  the  enemy  was  diametrically  op 
posite  ;  although  from  Clinton's  omission  to  publicly  im 
pute  unsoundness  of  judgment  or  improper  motives  to  his 
adversaries,  it  was  inferred  in  this  country  that  he  acquiesced 
in  the  justice  of  the  sentence.  •  I  must  confess  that  Sir  Hen- 


CLINTON'S  ACCOUNT  OF  ARNOLD'S  AFFAIR.        415 

ry's  general  orders  of  Oct.  8th,  1780,  would  prevent  such 
a  conclusion  in  my  mind  :  and  Lord  Mahon,  by  an  extract 
from  Clinton's  MS.  Memoirs,  has  undoubtedly  refuted  any 
deduction  that  "  the  opinions  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on  this 
subject  were  essentially  the  same  as  those  of  General  Wash 
ington."  Though  it  was  little  known  in  our  own  days,  it 
must  have  been  a  familiar  fact  to  all  who  lived  in  Clinton's 
intimacy  that  in  no  wise  nor  at  any  time  did  he  conceive 
Washington's  course  justifiable.  When  Stedman,  a  royal 
officer  in  our  Revolution,  published  his  history  of  the  war 
and  half  admitted  Andre's  guilt  by  protestations  of  the  ab 
sence  of  every  intention  that  could  have  drawn  him  into  the 
position  of  a  spy,  Sir  Henry  affixed  this  brief  manuscript 
comment  to  the  paragraph  —  "  Ignorance  of  whole  transac 
tion  —  too  tender  a  subject  to  explain  upon  now.  See  blank 
leaves  at  the  end."  Accordingly  a  written  statement  was 
afterwards  inserted  by  Clinton  at  the  conclusion  of  the  book, 
which,  though  essentially  the  same  with  that  given  from  his 
MSS.  by  Lord  Mahon,  may  well  be  published  here.  It  is 
entitled  in  the  writings  before  me,  — 


SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  ACCOUNT  OF  ARNOLD'S  AFFAIR. 

(From  his  MS.  History  of  the  War,  Vol.  II.  p.  43.) 

September,  1780.  About  eighteen  Months  before  the  pres 
ent  period,  Mr.  Arnold  (a  major  General  in  the  American 
Service)  had  found  means  to  intimate  to  me,  that  having 
cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  many  late  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Congress,  particularly  their  alliance  with  France, 
he  was  desirous  of  quitting  them  and  joining  the  cause  of 
Great  Britain,  could  he  be  certain  of  personal  security  and 
indemnification  for  whatever  loss  of  property  he  might  there 
by  sustain.  An  overture  of  that  sort  coming  from  an  officer 
of  Mr.  Arnold's  ability  and  fame  could  not  but  attract  my 
attention  ;  and  as  I  thought  it  possible  that  like  another  Gen- 


416  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF.. 

eral,  Monk,  he  might  have  repented  of  the  part  he  had  taken, 
and  wish  to  make  atonement  for  the  injuries  he  had  done  his 
Country  by  rendering  her  some  signal  and  adequate  benefit, 
I  was  of  course  liberal  in  making  him  such  offers  and  prom 
ises  as  I  judged  most  likely  to  encourage  him  in  his  present 
temper.  A  correspondence  was  after  this  opened  between 
us  under  feigned  names  ;  in  the  course  of  which  he  from 
time  to  time  transmitted  to  me  most  material  intelligence  ; 
and,  with  a  view  (as  I  supposed)  of  rendering  us  still  more 
essential  service,  he  obtained  in  July,  1780,  the  command  of 
all  the  Enemy's  forts  in  the  Highlands,  then  garrisoned  by 
about  4000  men.  The  local  importance  of  these  posts  has 
been  already  very  fully  described  in  the  last  Volume  of  this 
History  ;  it  is  therefore  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  here 
that  the  obtaining  possession  of  them  at  the  present  critical 
period  would  have  been  a  most  desirable  circumstance  ;  and 
that  the  advantages  to  be  drawn  from  Mr.  Arnold's  having 
the  command  of  them  struck  me  with  full  force  the  instant  I 
heard  of  his  appointment.  But  the  arrival  of  the  French 
armament,  the  consequent  expedition  to  Rhode  Island,  and 
the  weakness  of  my  own  force  together  with  the  then  daily 
increase  of  Mr.  Washington's,  obliged  me  to  wait  for  some 
more  favourable  opportunity  before  I  attempted  to  put  that 
gentleman's  sincerity  to  the  proof. 

In  the  mean  time  wishing  to  reduce  to  an  absolute  cer 
tainty  whether  the  person  I  had  so  long  corresponded  with 
was  actually  Major  General  Arnold  commanding  at  West 
Point,  I  acceded  to  a  proposal  he  made  me  to  permit  some 
officer  in  my  confidence  to  have  a  personal  conference  with 
him,  when  every  thing  might  be  more  explicitly  settled  be 
tween  us  than  it  was  possible  to  do  by  letter,  and  as  he 
required  that  my  Adjutant  General,  Major  Andre,  who  had 
chiefly  conducted  the  correspondence  with  him  under  the 
signature  of  John  Anderson,  should  meet  him  for  this  pur 
pose  on  Neutral  Ground,  I  was  induced  to  consent  to  his 
doing  so  from  my  great  confidence  in  that  officer's  prudence 


CLINTON'S  ACCOUNT   OF  ARNOLD'S  AFFAIR.          417 

and  address.  Some  attempts  towards  a  meeting  had  been 
accordingly  made  before  Sir  George  Rodney's  arrival.  But 
though  the  plan  had  been  well  laid,  they  were  constantly 
frustrated  by  some  untoward  accident  or  other  ;  one  of  which 
had  very  nearly  cost  Mr.  Arnold  his  life.  These  disappoint 
ments  made  him  of  course  cautious  :  and  as  I  now  became 
anxious  to  forward  the  execution  of  my  project  while  I  could 
have  that  naval  chief's  assistance,  and  under  so  good  a  mask 
as  the  Expedition  to  the  Chesapeak  which  enabled  me  to 
make  every  requisite  preparation  without  being  suspected,  I 
consented  to  another  proposal  from  General  Arnold  for 
Major  Andre  to  go  to  him  by  water  from  Dobb's  ferry  in  a 
boat  which  he  would  himself  send  for  him  under  a  Flag  of 
Truce.  For  I  could  have  no  reason  to  suspect  that  any  bad 
consequence  could  possibly  result  to  Major  Andre  from  such 
a  mode,  as  I  had  given  it  in  charge  to  him  not  to  change  his 
dress  or  name  on  any  account,  or  possess  himself  of  writings 
by  which  the  nature  of  his  Embassy  might  be  traced,  and  I 
understood  that  after  his  Business  was  finished  he  was  to  be 
sent  back  in  the  same  way.  But  unhappily  none  of  these 
precautions  were  observed ;  on  the  contrary,  General  Ar 
nold  for  reasons  which  he  judged  important,  or  perhaps 
(which  is  the  most  probable)  losing  at  the  moment  his  usual 
presence  of  mind,  thought  proper  to  drop  the  design  of  send 
ing  Major  Andre  back  by  water,  and  prevailed  upon  him,  or 
rather  compelled  him  as  would  appear  by  that  unfortunate 
Officer's  letter  to  me,  to  part  with  his  uniform,  and  under  a 
borrowed  disguise  to  take  a  circuitous  route  to  New  York 
through  the  Posts  of  the  Enemy  under  the  sanction  of  his 
passport.  The  consequence  was  (as  might  be  expected) 
that  he  was  stopped  at  Tarrytown  and  searched,  and  certain 
papers  being  found  about  him  concealed,  he  was  (notwith 
standing  his  passport)  carried  prisoner  before  Mr.  Washing 
ton,  to  whom  he  candidly  acknowledged  his  name  and  quality. 
Measures  were  of  course  immediately  taken  upon  this  to 
seize  General  Arnold  ;  but  that  officer  being  fortunate  enough 
27 


418  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

to  receive  timely  notice  of  Major  Andre's  fate  effected  his 
escape  to  a  King's  Sloop  lying  off  Taller's  Point,  and  carne 
the  next  day  to  New  York. 

I  was  exceedingly  shocked  by  this  unexpected  accident, 
which  not  only  ruined  a  most  important  project,  which  had 
all  the  appearance  of  being  in  a  happy  train  of  success,  but  in 
volved  in  danger  and  distress  a  confidential  friend,  for  whom 
I  had  (very  deservedly)  the  warmest  esteem.  Not  imme 
diately  knowing  however  the  full  extent  of  the  misfortune, 
I  did  not  then  imagine  the  Enemy  could  have  any  motive  for 
pushing  matters  to  extremity,  as  the  bare  detention  of  so 
valuable  an  officer's  person  might  have  given  him  a  great 
power  and  advantage  over  me  ;  and  I  was  accordingly  in 
hopes  that  an  official  demand  from  me  for  his  immediate  re 
lease,  as  having  been  under  the  sanction  of  a  Flag  of  Truce 
when  he  landed  within  his  posts,  might  shorten  his  captivity, 
or  at  least  stop  his  proceeding  with  rigour  against  him.  But 
the  cruel  and  unfortunate  catastrophe  convinced  me  that  I 
was  much  mistaken  in  my  opinion  of  both  his  policy  and 
humanity.  For  delivering  himself  up  (it  should  seem)  to 
the  rancour  excited  by  the  near  accomplishment  of  a  plan 
which  might  effectually  have  restored  the  King's  Authority 
and  tumbled  him  from  his  present  exalted  situation,  he  burnt 
with  a  desire  of  wreaking  his  vengeance  on  the  principal 
actors  in  it ;  and  consequently  regardless  of  the  acknowl 
edged  worth  and  abilities  of  the  amiable  young  man,  who 
had  thus  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  in  opposition  to  every 
principle  of  policy  and  call  of  humanity  he  without  remorse 
put  him  to  a  most  ignominious  death  ;  and  this  at  a  moment 
when  one  of  his  Generals  was  by  his  own  appointment  in 
actual  Conference  with  Commissioners  whom  I  had  sent  to 
treat  to  him  for  Major  Andre's  release. 

The  manner  in  which  Major  Andre  was  drawn  to  the 
Enemy's  Shore  (manifestly  at  the  instance  and  under  the 
sanction  of  the  General  Officer  who  had  the  command  of 
the  district)  and  his  being  avowedly  compelled  by  that  offi- 


LORD  CORNWALLIS'S  OPINION.  419 

cer  to  change  his  dress  and  name  and  return  under  his  pass 
port  by  land,  were  circumstances  which,  as  they  certainly 
much  lessen  the  imputed  criminality  of  his  offence,  ought  at 
least  to  have  softened  the  severity  of  the  Council  of  War's 
Opinion  respecting  it,  notwithstanding  his  imprudence  of  hav 
ing  possessed  himself  of  the  papers  which  they  found  on  him. 
Which,  though  they  led  to  a  discovery  of  the  nature  of  the 
business  that  drew  him  to  a  conference  with  General  Arnold, 
were  not  wanted  (as  they  must  have  known)  for  my  infor 
mation.  For  they  were  not  ignorant  that  I  had  myself  been 
over  every  part  of  the  ground  on  which  the  Forts  stood,  and 
had  of  course  made  myself  perfectly  acquainted  with  every 
thing  necessary  for  facilitating  an  attack  of  them.  Mr. 
Washington  ought  also  to  have  remembered  that  I  had 
never  in  any  one  instance  punished  the  disaffected  Colonists 
(within  my  power)  with  Death,  but  on  the  contrary  had  in 
several  shewn  the  most  humane  attention  to  his  intercession 
even  in  favour  of  avowed  spies.  His  acting  therefore  in  so 
cruel  a  manner  in  opposition  to  my  earnest  solicitations 
could  not  but  excite  in  me  the  greatest  surprise ;  especially 
as  no  advantage  whatever  could  be  possibly  expected  to  his 
Cause  from  putting  the  object  of  them  to  death.  Nor  could 
he  be  insensible  (  had  he  the  smallest  spark  of  honour  in 
his  own  breast)  that  the  example,  though  ever  so  terrible 
and  ignominious,  would  never  deter  a  British  Officer  from 
treading  in  the  same  steps,  whenever  the  service  of  his 
Country  would  require  his  exposing  himself  to  the  like 
danger  in  such  a  War.  But  the  subject  affects  me  too  deeply 
to  proceed  —  nor  can  my  heart  cease  to  bleed  whenever  I 
reflect  on  the  very  unworthy  fate  of  this  most  amiable  and 
valuable  young  man,  who  was  adorned  with  the  rarest  en 
dowments  of  Education  and  Nature,  and  (had  he  lived) 
could  not  but  have  attained  to  the  highest  honours  of  his 
profession  ! ! ! 

The  Marquis  Cornwallis  was  not  at  New  York  when  the 


420  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRE. 

catastrophe  occurred,  nor  does  he  seem  to  have  been  one 
of  Clinton's  admirers  or  Arnold's  supporters  in  the  royal 
service :  but  he  was  undoubtedly  well  informed  of  the  facts 
of  the  case,  of  which  he  expresses  himself  thus :  — 

"  The  sad  episode  of  Major  Andre  took  place  in  this  year. 
The  details  need  not  be  given,  but  it  may  be  observed  that, 
among  the  members  of  the  court  by  which  he  was  tried, 
were  two  foreigners,  ignorant  of  the  English  language,  and 
several  of  the  coarsest  and  most  illiterate  of  the  American 
generals.  Doubts  have  been  entertained  whether  Wash 
ington  had  timely  information  of  the  requests  and  remon 
strances  made  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who,  had  he  been 
disposed  to  retaliate,  could  easily  have  selected  among  his 
prisoners  Americans  deserving  the  name  of  spy  much  more 
justly  than  Major  Andre.  In  any  case  the  execution  of 
that  officer  leaves  an  indelible  blot  on  the  character  of 
Washington."  * 

Whether  or  not  Beverly  Robinson,  as  is  said,  distrusted 
the  safety  of  Andre's  leaving  the  Vulture,  it  is  clear  from 
his  letter  and  Sutherland's  that  these  officers  considered  him 
unlawfully  detained,  and,  of  consequence,  unlawfully  done 
to  death.  Robertson's  emphatic  assertion  of  the  erroneous 
finding  of  the  court  of  inquiry  will  also  be  borne  in  mind  ; 
and  his  proffer  to  die  himself  if  Knyphausen  and  Rocham- 
beau  would  not  agree  with  him.  What  the  first  might  have 
thought  we  do  not  know  :  the  tendency  of  the  last  may  be 
guessed  from  his  own  recorded  words.  Andre  deserved  a 
better  fate,  he  thought,  but  the  seventy  of  the  laws  and  the 
necessity  of  an  example  enforced  his  condemnation.  His 
Aide,  Count  Mathieu  Dumas,  afterwards  lieutenant-general,  is 
more  explicit.  He  says  Andre  having  come  to  Arnold  in  a 
peasant's  disguise  was  justly  condemned  and  executed  as  a  spy. 

*  Corr.  Corn.  i.  78.  In  1791  the  marquis,  as  governor-general  of  India, 
exchanged  official  compliments  with  our  President;  though  "he  himself 
continued  in  troubled  waters,''  he  said,  he  wished  "for  General  Washing 
ton  a  long  enjoyment  of  tranquillity  and  happiness."  Wash,  in  Dom. 
Life,  57. 


CONFLICTING  OPINIONS  ON  ANDRE'S   SENTENCE.      421 

This  language  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  question  of 
flags  and  safe-conducts  was  not  raised  in  the  French  camp. 

In  reciting  the  opinions  of  such  of  the  enemy  as  were 
acquainted  with  the  facts  of  the  case,  that  of  Simcoe  must 
not  be  ignored.  This  distinguished  man  was  not  only 
thoroughly  a  practical  soldier,  but,  what  was  more  rare  then 
than  in  these  days,  was  well  versed  in  the  learning,  ancient 
and  modern,  of  his  profession.  His  language  is  strong  and 
bitter  ;  yet  entirely  repugnant  as  it  is  to  some  of  my  own  con 
victions,  I  think  it  only  fair  to  present  it  at  length.  On  one 
point  he  seems  to  have  hit  a  more  correct  view  than  some  of 
his  fellows  :  he  attributes  to  Washington  a  full  knowledge  of 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  affair.  The  undercurrent  of  his 
thoughts  seem  to  indicate  a  theory  that  one  motive  for  rigor 
ous  proceedings  was  to  prevent  distrust  on  the  part  of  the 
French  auxiliaries ;  who  certainly  would  have  been  in  a  very 
awkward  position  had  Arnold's  designs  succeeded.  This  is 
very  questionable :  as  has  been  said,  I  believe  Andre's  case 
was  decided  on  its  merits,  though  policy  undoubtedly  had  to 
do  with  the  fulfilment  of  the  sentence.  Simcoe  declares, 
however,  that  he  "  had  certain  and  satisfactory  intelligence 
that  the  French  party  in  general,  and  M.  Fayette  in  particu 
lar  who  sat  upon  his  trial,  urged  Mr.  Washington  to  the 
unnecessary  deed."  One  might  well  ask  how  he  got  this 
"  certain  intelligence  : "  but  let  us  see  how  he  speaks  of  the 
conduct  of  our  chiefs  :  — 

"  Major  Andre  was  murdered  upon  private  not  public 
considerations.  It  bore  not  with  it  the  stamp  of  justice  ;  for 
there  was  not  an  officer  in  the  British  army  whose  duty  it 
would  not  have  been,  had  any  of  the  American  Generals 
offered  to  quit  the  service  of  Congress,  to  have  negotiated 
to  receive  them ;  so  that  this  execution  could  not,  by  ex 
ample,  have  prevented  the  repetition  of  the  same  offence. 
It  may  appear,  that  from  his  change  of  dress,  &c.,  he  came 
under  the  description  of  a  spy  ;  but  when  it  shall  be  con 
sidered  '  against  his  stipulation,  intention,  and  knowledge,'  he 


422  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

became  absolutely  a  prisoner,  and  was  forced  to  change  his 
dress  for  self-preservation,  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  no 
European  general  would  on  this  pretext  have  had  his  blood 
upon  his  head.  He  fell  a  victim  to  that  which  was  ex 
pedient,  not  to  that  which  was  just :  what  was  supposed  to 
be  useful  superceded  what  would  have  been  generous ;  and 
though,  by  imprudently  carrying  papers  about  him,  he 
gave  a  colour  to  those,  who  endeavoured  to  separate  Great 
Britain  from  America,  to  press  for  his  death,  yet  an  open  and 
elevated  mind  would  have  found  greater  satisfaction  in  the 
obligations  it  might  have  laid  on  the  army  of  his  opponents, 
than  in  carrying  into  execution  a  useless  and  unnecessary 
vengeance. 

"  It  has  been  said,  that  not  only  the  French  party  from 
their  customary  policy,  but  Mr.  Washington's  personal  ene 
mies  urged  him  on,  contrary  to  his  inclinations,  to  render 
him  unpopular  if  he  executed  Major  Andre,  or  suspected  if 
he  pardoned  him.  In  the  length  of  the  war,  for  what  one 
generous  action  has  Mr.  Washington  been  celebrated  ?  what 
honourable  sentiment  ever  fell  from  his  lips  which  can  in 
validate  the  belief,  that  surrounded  with  difficulties  and 
ignorant  in  whom  to  confide,  he  meanly  sheltered  himself 
under  the  opinions  of  his  officers  and  the  Congress,  in  per 
petrating  his  own  previous  determination?  and,  in  perfect 
conformity  to  his  interested  ambition,  which  crowned  with 
success  beyond  all  human  calculation  in  1783,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  '  bid  a  last  farewell  to  the  cares  of  office,  and  all 
the  employments  of  public  life,'  to  resume  them  at  this  mo 
ment  (1787)  as  President  of  the  American  Convention? 
Had  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  whose  whole  behaviour  in  his  pub 
lic  disappointment,  and  most  afflicting  of  private  dispensa 
tions,  united  the  sensibility  of  the  Friend,  with  the  magna 
nimity  of  the  General,  had  he  possessed  a  particle  of  the 
malignity  which,  in  this  transaction,  was  exhibited  by  the 
American,  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Carolina 
then  in  confinement,  on  the  clearest  proof  for  the  violation 


CHARACTER  OF  OUR  GENERALS.        423 

of  the  law  of  nations,  would  have  been  adjudged  to  the 
death  they  had  merited.  The  papers  which  Congress  pub 
lished,  relative  to  Major  Andre's  death,  will  remain  an  eter 
nal  monument  of  the  principles  of  that  heroic  officer ;  and, 
when  fortune  shall  no  longer  gloss  over  her  fading  pane 
gyric,  will  enable  posterity  to  pass  judgment  on  the  character 
of  Washington."  * 

Though  clothed  in  language  painful  to  our  ears,  we  cannot 
deny  that,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  opinions  of  these  English 
officers  familiar  with  the  facts  were  opposed  to  those  of  our 
own  generals.  Lord  Rawdon  hardly  forms  the  exception. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  has  been  said  that  the  British 
sentiment,  by  reason  of  the  superior  military  knowledge  of 
its  exponents,  was  more  likely  to  be  accurate ;  and  that  their 
education  had  not  sufficiently  instructed  the  American  leaders 
in  the  principles  of  international  law.  It  should  seem  that 
at  this  day  the  question  ought  to  be  rather  as  to  the  correct 
ness  of  their  decision  than  their  fitness  to  make  it :  but  it 
may  be  as  well  to  glance  hastily  at  the  circumstances  attend 
ing  the  composition  of  the  court.  Good  or  bad,  it  was  cer 
tainly  the  best  we  had  in  an  army  of  which  Chastellux  testifies 
the  generals  were  distinguished  for  their  military  appearance 
and  behavior,  and  even  the  subalterns  manifested  a  union 
of  capacity  and  good-breeding. 

As  president  of  the  board  and  reputedly  one  of  the  firmest 
in  promoting  Andre's  death,  Greene  is  the  head  and  front 
of  those  who  offended  by  their  unprofessional  breeding  and 
limited  education.  Born  in  1740,  Greene  had  been  a  black 
smith:  he  was  a  blacksmith  when  he  marched  to  Boston, 
and  was  raised  from  the  ranks  of  a  militia  company  to  a 
colonial  major-generalcy.  The  case  is  not  singular.  It  was 

*  Mil.  Journ.  152,  294.  As  governor  of  Upper  Canada  Simcoe  in  1795 
is  described  by  Rochefoucault-Liancourt  as  just,  enlightened,  frank,  and 
brave :  but  unswerving  in  his  aversion  to  the  United  States  and  constantly 
speculating  on  a  campaign  that  should  lead  him  to  Philadelphia.  If  he 
did  not  instigate  he  certainly  did  not  discourage  the  Indian  wars  of  the 
northwest,  in  which  St.  Clair  was  so  terribly  cut  to  pieces. 


424  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDKF.. 

a  smith  that  led  the  Turks  from  the  slavery  of  the  Altai 
Mountains  to  royal  greatness ;  and  for  centuries  the  exercise 
of  anvil  and  sledge  preserved  the  memory  of  the  deeds  that 
changed  the  forge  for  the  throne.  The  abrupt  translation  of 
the  stuttering  Michael  from  the  cinders  of  his  smithy  to  the 
porphyry  palaces  of  the  Eastern  Empire  furnishes  history 
with  one  of  its  most  glaring  illustrations  of  the  mutability  of 
fortune  and  the  blindness  of  the  popular  will.  The  black 
smith's  apron  that  commemorated  the  imperial  origin  long  led 
the  Persians  to  victory,  until  the  jewels  with  which  it  con 
tinued  to  be  embroidered  entirely  hid  the  leather  from  view. 
Greene's  was  one  of  those  cases  in  which  promotion  was 
born  of  merit,  and  the  general's  worth  obscures  his  un 
professional  origin.  Though  self-educated,  the  advisers  of 
his  studies  were  President  Stiles  and  Lindley  Murray.  His 
reading  was  thotongh  rather  than  large.  His  military  text 
books  were  Ceesar's  Commentaries,  Plutarch,  Turenne's  Me 
moirs,  and  Sharpe's  Military  Guide  :  but  he  was  familiar 
with  Blackstone  and  with  Ferguson's  Civil  Society,  and  I 
am  able  to  state  positively  had  carefully  read  over  Vattel. 
To  his  capacity  in  the  field  Tarleton  bears  ample  testimony  ; 
and  it  is  odd  that  the  beginning  and  the  ending  of  his 
campaignings  should  involve  the  idea  of  a  spy.  To  pro 
cure  arms  to  use  against  the  English,  in  1774  or  1775  he 
slipped  into  Boston,  watched  the  discipline  of  the  troops  at 
their  morning  and  evening  parades,  and  when  he  smuggled 
out  a  musket  and  accoutrements  he  brought  a  deserter  along 
as  a  drillmaster  to  the  militia  corps  with  which  he  served. 
In  Carolina,  he  employed  a  young  lady  on  secret  services  of 
the  greatest  danger  without  scruple  ;  and  after  the  evac 
uation  of  Charleston  towards  the  end  of  the  war,  when  the 
whig  governor  arrested  Captain  Ker  and  his  crew  who  had 
come  with  a  flag  to  Greene,  he  called  a  council  of  officers 
and  with  their  concurrence  enforced  the  flag-party's  release 
by  an  armed  demonstration  on  the  place.  This  circum 
stance  tends  to  show  that  Greene  understood  the  nature  of 


CHARACTERS  OF  OUR  GENERALS.        425 

his  present  business,  and  also  that  no  seeking  after  the  ap 
plause  of  the  civil  powers  was  likely  to  bend  him  from  the 
path  of  professional  integrity  :  and  indeed  at  the  time  of 
Andre's  sentence  he  was  out  of  favor  with  Congress.  He 
was  a  calm,  circumspect  man  :  fond  of  general  principles ; 
his  mind  clear,  comprehensive,  and  logical.  Unwearied  in 
collecting  premises,  he  was  immovable  in  his  conclusions. 
It  is  probable  enough  that  however  accurate  and  reasonable 
\vere  his  mental  operations,  his  manners  may  have  savored 
of  his  youthful  associations :  but  such  as  they  were,  he 
abided  with  them.  It  is  recorded  that  even  after  both  had 
left  the  army,  he  continued  to  refuse  satisfaction  to  a  brother 
officer  whom  he  did  not  think  the  proprieties  of  martial  life 
entitled  to  demand  it.* 

If  Greene  was  of  humble  birth  and  self-taught,  Stirling, 
born  in  1726,  was  directly  the  reverse.  He  was  of  noble 
blood  and  had  ineffectually  sued  for  the  earldom  that  he  al 
ways  claimed  as  his  rightful  inheritance.  His  education  was 
liberal :  he  was  versed  in  the  classics  and  proficient  in  the 
severe  sciences.  In  1754,  he  aided  in  founding  the  New 
York  Society  Library :  and  in  the  ensuing  war,  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  military  family  of  Shirley,  the  king's  chief  gen 
eral  here.  Thacher  tells  an  idle  camp-fire  story  of  his 
punctilious  adhesiveness  to  the  dignity  of  his  rank,  but 
adds  :  —  u  In  his  personal  appearance  his  lordship  is  vener 
able  and  dignified;  in  his  deportment,  gentlemanly  and 
graceful ;  in  conversation,  pleasing  and  interesting."  His 
convivial  habits  were  specially  satirized  by  Andre  in  The 
Cowchase.  Chastellux  mentions  the  same  infirmity,  but 

*  It  may  be  added  that  Greene  was  noted  for  the  prompt  severity  with 
which  he  checked  the  disorders  of  his  command :  and  more  than  one  ex 
ecution  proves  how  firm  he  was  in  preserving  the  legitimate  discipline  of 
war.  A  good  idea  of  the  military  capacity  of  our  generals  may  be  got 
from  their  proposed  emendations  of  the  Articles  of  War,  Oct.  1775.  On 
this  occasion,  Greene  demanded  a  Provost-marshal,  and  desired  that  trea 
son  in  the  army  against  the  United  States  should  be  clearly  defined,  and 
the  penalty  prescribed. 


426  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  AXDRF.. 

says  he  was  very  brave,  zealous,  sensible,  and  of  informa 
tion  ;  though  without  capacity,  old,  and  dull.  He  certainly 
was  sincere  and  steady  in  his  devotion  to  our  cause. 

St.  Clair,  born  in  Scotland  in  1734,  had  a  thoroughly  liber 
al  education  at  one  of  the  best  Scottish  universities.  He  was 
intended  for  medicine,  but  his  taste  being  for  arms  he  ob 
tained  a  commission  through  the  influence  of  his  elevated 
connections,  and  came  to  America  with  Boscawen  in  1755. 
He  was  a  lieutenant  under  Wolfe  and  esteemed  a  very 
meritorious  officer,  capable  of  reaching  great  military  dis 
tinction.  He  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  Fort  Ligo- 
nier  in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  retiring  from  the  army  after  the 
Peace  of  1763,  filled  some  important  civil  offices  in  that 
province.  In  March,  1774,  Governor  John  Penn  wrote  to 
Lord  Dunmore  :  —  "  Mr.  St.  Clair  is  a  gentleman  who  for 
a  long  time  had  the  honour  of  serving  his  Majesty  in  the 
regulars  with  reputation,  and  in  every  station  of  life  has 
preserved  the  character  of  a  very  honest  man."  * 

La  Fayette,  born  in  1757,  is  too  well  known  to  ask 
many  words  here.  His  education,  civil  and  military,  was  as 
good  as  his  years  would  permit.  He  was  brave  and  intelli 
gent,  and  covetous  of  popular  applause.  In  1787,  Jefferson 
wrote  that  he  had  an  undue  love  of  popularity.  This,  and 
his  hatred  to  England,  led  him  into  such  escapades  as  his 
challenge  to  Lord  Carlisle  for  language  used  regarding 

*  St.  Glair's  fate  was  a  hard  one  and  unmerited.  After  having  served 
in  almost  every  American  siege  or  action  of  consequence  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  and  abandoning  an  estate  in  Scotland  to  take  up  arms  in  our 
Revolution,  his  honour  was  wofully  impugned.  He  was  court-martialled 
by  Congress  for  neglect  of  duty,  cowardice,  treachery,  &c. ;  and  though  of 
course  acquitted  (being  entirely  innocent)  his  feelings  were  naturally  stung. 
Sullivan,  too,  published  a  letter,  Aug.  (5,  1777,  which  seemed  to  question 
his  fidelity,  until  he  disavowed  any  such  meaning,  Aug.  30.  St.  Clair 
earned  and  kept  Washington's  esteem ;  but  in  after-life  he  was  stripped  of 
his  appointments  bv  government,  defrauded  of  his  rights,  and  lived  in  old 
age  for  several  years  "in  the  most  abject  poverty."  Pennsylvania  then 
granted  him  a  pension  of  §650  yearly,  on  which  he  wore  out  his  few  re 
maining  davs. 


CHARACTERS  OF  OUR  GENERALS.        427 

France  in  his  quality  of  Commissioner ;  but  they  did  him 
no  harm  with  the  multitude.  The  sword  of  honor  that  Con 
gress  gave  him  in  1779,  "  I  am  proud,"  said  he,  "  to  carry 
into  the  heart  of  England."  Like  Simon  of  Montfort,  our 
people  rejoiced  that  a  Frenchman  and  foreigner,  himself  the 
subject  of  a  despotism,  should  be  so  penetrated  with  their 
oppressions  as  to  lead  them  to  liberty  in  a  civil  war.  He 
was  liberal  of  his  person  and  his  purse  in  our  cause,  and  his 
name  was  beloved  by  our  nation,  even  when  it  was  pro 
scribed  by  his  own.  For,  after  active  efforts,  having  suc 
ceeded  in  setting  a  constitutional  reform  in  motion,  the  storm 
that  rose  in  France  bore  down  the  best  of  those  who  had 
aided  the  movement.  The  National  Assembly  declared  him 
a  traitor  to  his  country,  and  flying  from  arrest  to  the  enemy, 
he  was  closely  immured  at  Olrniitz.  Efforts  were  made  to 
procure  the  intercession  of  England  in  his  behalf ;  but  there 
was  little  reason  to  expect  that  England  should  espouse  his 
cause.  Pitt  set  his  face  against  it ;  and  when  a  lord  bewailed 
his  unhappy  state  to  George  III.  in  hope  of  exciting  the 
royal  sympathy,  the  king  is  said  to  have  cut  the  speaker 
short  with  two  pregnant  words  —  "Remember  Andre."* 

*  Anal.  Mag.  ii.  172.  In  the  Commons,  March  17,  1794,  Gen.  Fitzpat- 
rick  moved  that  the  king  be  besought  to  intercede  with  the  court  of  Ber 
lin  for  La  Fayette  and  his  companions.  Burke  vehemently  replied  in  most 
denunciatory  terms  against  La  Fayette,  whom  he  considered  the  author 
and  origin  of  innumerable  outrages  in  France.  The  only  precedent,  he 
said,  for  the  interference  of  one  power  with  another  in  behalf  of  the  subject 
ef  a  third  was  "'  the  case  of  the  interposition  of  the  late  court  of  France, 
which  was  now  so  frequently  denominated  despotic  and  tyrannical,  in  fa 
vour  of  Sir  Charles  Asgill,  an  interposition  which  was  chiefly  rendered 
effectual  by  the  exertions  of  the  late  unfortunate  queen."  France,  he 
continued,  claimed  La  Fayette  as  a  traitor,  whom  the  rabble  he  had  been 
instrumental  in  elevating  to  power,  were  desirous  of  sacrificing.  He  had 
volunteered  for  America  and  against  England  before  any  hostilities  be 
tween  England  and  France,  and  had  rebelled  against  his  own  lawful 
sovereign.  After  citations  of  his  alleged  participation  in  some  popular  vio 
lences  in  his  own  country,  Burke  concluded :  u  I  would  not  debauch  my 
humanity  by  supporting  an  application  like  the  present  in  behalf  of  such  a 
horrid  ruffian."  The  motion  was  lost:  46  against  153;  but  the  episode  is 
a  curious  one  in  La  Fayette's  life.  It  is  not  often  Americans  have  heard 
him  called  by  such  names. 


428  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Of  Robert  Howe  not  a  great  deal  is  known.  He  was 
probably  an  Englishman  :  at  all  events  he  was  in  the  Eng 
lish  service  before  the  war ;  was  settled  in  North  Carolina ; 
and  had  commanded  (I  think)  Fort  Johnston,  where  a 
garrison  of  ten  men  was  kept  up  in  time  of  peace.  He 
was  an  early  and  active  whig,  representing  Brunswick 
county  ;  and  in  1775,  was  proclaimed  against  by  Gov.  Mar 
tin  as  "  Robert  Howes,  alias  Howe."  In  1776  Clinton  de 
barked  on  his  plantation  ;  and  specially  excepted  him  from 
grace.  He  is  described  by  Smith  as  a  good  officer  and  a 
superior  engineer :  and  I  have  other  reasons  for  believing 
that  here  Smith  is  right.  '  Irvine  and  others  however  dis 
trusted  his  general  capacity  in  a  serious  emergency.  It  is 
probable  that  Howe  had  all  the  book-learning  of  his  trade. 
His  years  were  doubtless  well  advanced  at  this  time,  and 
Chastellux  pronounces  him  fond  of  music,  the  arts,  and 
pleasure,  and  of  cultivated  mind.  In  August,  1785,  he 
was  appointed  by  Congress  to  treat  with  the  Western  In 
dians. 

Steuben,  born  in  1730,  had  served  at  the  age  of  fourteen; 
but  he  does  not  appear  to  have  held  higher  than  regimental 
rank  in  the  Prussian  army.  The  idea  of  his  having  been  a 
favorite  general  of  the  great  Frederick's  is  all  a  delusion. 
He  was  an  honest  old  soldier  of  fortune,  and  a  singularly  ac 
complished  disciplinarian.*  His  review  of  a  brigade  would 

*  An  incident  at  Yorktown  shoAvs  his  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  laws 
of  Avar,  in  opposition  to  La  Fayette's.  He  commanded  in  the  trenches 
Avhen  a  flag  came  out  Avith  proposals  of  capitulation.  While  the  negotia 
tion  went  on,  La  Fayette's  tour  of  duty  arrived ;  as  it  Avas  of  course  a 
point  of  honor  to  plant  our  flag  on  the  enemy's  fortress,  there  Avas  a  com 
petition  for  the  command  that  would  give  the  right.  Steuben  asserted 
that  having  receiAred  the  flag,  he  was  entitled  to  retain  his  place  till  the 
negotiation  Avas  closed  either  by  surrender  or  reneAved  hostilities.  La  Fay- 
ette  denied  this,  and  marched  with  his  division  to  relieA'e  the  German: 
who  Avould  not  be  relieved.  La  Fayette  appealed  to  Washington :  the 
case  Avas  carried  to  Rochambeau  and*  his  chiefs,  and  it  AA^as  decided  that  the 
baron  Avas  right,  and  must  retain  the  command.  The  matter  does  not 
seem  to  have  ended  here.  Ensign  Denny  (apparently  of  La  Fayette's 
division)  was  detailed  to  erect  our  standard  Avhen  the  troops  entered  York- 


CHARACTERS  OF  OUR  GENERALS.        429 

extend  to  every  arm  and  accoutrement  of  every  officer  and 
private ;  blaming  or  praising  as  the  case  required.  The 
surgeon's  list  would  be  examined,  the  disorders  of  the  pa 
tients  inquired  into,  and  their  treatment.  These  inspections 
are  sometimes  the  subject  of  precise  narration,  yet  no  annal 
ist  mentions  any  difficulty  of  language  in  comprehending  or 
satisfying  the  baron.  On  the  contrary  we  are  expressly 
told  that  though  never  perfectly  its  master,  he  had  like  La 
Fayette  a  sufficiently  correct  knowledge  of  our  tongue. 
He  was  not  however  on  friendly  terms  with  La  Fayette ; 
and  in  America  would  boast  of  having  been  in  the  battle  of 
Rossbach  where  he  made  the  Frenchmen  run.  Steuben  was 
beloved  by  his  troops,  to  whom,  like  Trajan  or  Hadrian  of 
old,  he  would  not  scruple  to  give  himself  manual  instruction. 
Simcoe  distinguishes  his  capacity  as  superior  to  that  of  his 
fellows ;  and  esteemed  him  an  expert  soldier,  well-skilled  in 
adapting  the  science  of  war  to  the  character  of  his  followers 
and  the  nature  of  the  country.  There  is  no  earthly  reason 
to  suppose  that  he  did  not  perfectly  comprehend  the  circum 
stances  of  Andre's  case,  whose  fate  he  commiserated.  "  It 
is  impossible  to  save  him,"  wrote  the  baron.  "  He  put  us  to 
no  proof,  but  in  an  open,  manly  manner  confessed  everything 
but  a  premeditated  design  to  deceive.  Would  to  God  the 
wretch  who  drew  him  to  death  could  have  suffered  in  his 
place ! "  * 

town,  and  was  in  the  act  of  planting  it  on  the  parapet  before  the  three 
armies  when  Steuben  galloped  up,  took  the  flag,  and  planted  it  himself. 
Ill  blood  existed  on  both  sides,  and  a  challenge  from  Butler  of  Wayne's 
brigade  went  to  Steuben,  which  it  required  all  the  influence  of  Washing 
ton  on  one  side  and  Rochambeau  on  the  other  to  hush  up.  Mems.  Hist. 
Soc.  Penn.  vii.  214,  486. 

*Kapp's  Steuben,  290~,  477.  Thacher,  195,  517.  The  baron  never 
failed  to  speak  loudly  of  Arnold's  misconduct  after  his  desertion.  While 
inspecting  Sheldon's  Dragoons,  the  hated  name  struck  his  ear  on  the  roster. 
He  called  the  bearer  to  the  front,  and  found  his  equipments  in  capital  or 
der.  "  Change  your  name,  brother  soldier,  you  are  too  respectable  to  bear 
the  name  of  a  traitor."  "What  name  shall  I  take,  general?"  "Take 
any  other  name.  Mine  is  at  your  service."  The  trooper's  name  was 
thenceforth  Steuben:  and  after  the  war,  he  settled  on  land  bestowed  bv 


430  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

Parsons  was  a  Connecticut  lawyer  before  the  war,  and  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  in  1756.  He  was  of  a  good  Massa 
chusetts  family,  and  in  1780  was  probably  about  forty  years 
of  age.  In  1775  he  was  settled  in  the  tenth  colonelcy  of  the 
continental  army  by  Washington,  albeit  he  had  headed  a 
remonstrance  of  the  Connecticut  line  to  its  legislature  against 
the  action  of  Congress  that  gave  precedence  to  Putnam  over 
Spencer.  They  "  had  no  objection  to  the  appointment  of 
Generals  Washington  and  Lee,"  but  apprehended  danger  to 
the  morals  and  discipline  of  the  line  by  Putnam's  superi 
ority.  Memorials  of  this  kind  Washington  had  in  wise  aver 
sion.  Parsons  was  a  man  of  parts. 

Clinton,  born  in  1737,  was  perhaps  of  the  same  blood  with 
Sir  Henry,  in  resisting  whom  he  had  been  severely  wounded. 
He  displayed  an  early  fondness  for  military  life,  and  served 
in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  He  excelled  in  the  exact  sciences, 
and  was  father  of  De  Witt  Clinton.  In  1775,  he  was  with 
Montgomery,  and  his  name  heads  the  apology  by  which  that 
general  was  persuaded  to  resume  the  command  that  the  in 
subordination  of  some  of  his  officers  had  provoked  him  to 
throw  up.* 

his  new  godfather.  "I  am  well  settled,  general,"  quoth  he,  "  and  have  a 
wife  and  son.  I  have  called  my  son  after  you,  Sir."  "  I  thank  you,  my 
friend;  what  name  have  you  given  the  boy?"  "  I  called  him  Baron," 
was  the  answer;  —  "  what  else  could  I  call  him !  " 

If  Steuben's  after-life  was  for  a  time  clouded  by  pecuniary  distress,  it  is 
grateful  to  know  that  his  services  at  last  commanded  a  substantial  ac 
knowledgment  from  America  which  made  his  old  age  comfortable. 

*  In  1777,  one  Daniel  Taylor,  deceived  by  the  British  uniforms  which  a 
party  of  our  troops  wore,  and  by  the  name  of  General  Clinton,  did  not 
discover  his  position  till  he  was  led  before  our  general.  He  then  swallowed 
a  silver  bullet,  but  an  emetic  bringing  it  back,  it  was  found  to  unscrew 
and  contain  this  note :  —  "To  GENERAL  BUKGOYNE :  —  Fort  Montgomery, 
Oct.  8th,  1777-  Nous  voici  —  and  nothing  between  us  but  Gates.  I  sin 
cerely  hope  this  little  success  of  ours  may  facilitate  your  operations.  In 
answer  to  your  letter  of  the  28th  of  September  by  C.  C.  I  shall  only  say, 
I  cannot  presume  to  order,  or  even  advise,  for  reasons  obvious.  I  heartily 
wish  you  success.  Faithfully  your%  H.  CLINTON."  —  Taylor  was  hanged  : 
"  Out  of  thine  own  mouth  shalt  thou  be  condemned,"  said  the  American 
officer. 


CHARACTERS  OF  OUR  GENERALS.        431 

Knox,  born  in  1750,  had  a  good  though  not  a  collegiate 
education,  and  in  youth  was  so  fond  of  military  pursuits  that 
at  eighteen  he  was  chosen  captain  of  a  volunteer  company  of 
grenadiers.  He  was  a  bookseller,  and  acquainted  with  the 
French  language  ;  and  though  his  talents  were  unknown  to 
Samuel  Adams,  they  were  at  once  discovered  in  our  army. 
The  aged  and  incapable  Gridley  was  ousted  from  the  com 
mand  of  the  artillery  department,  and  under  direction  of 
Knox  a  system  of  fortifications  were  thrown  up  before  Bos 
ton,  whose  strength  Howe  owned  at  sight,  without  venturing 
to  a  practical  test.  Mrs.  Warren  attributes  his  advance 
ment  to  personal  rather  than  military  considerations  ;  though 
she  confesses  he  made  an  excellent  officer.  The  testimony 
of  Washington,  of  Rochambeau,  of  Dumas,  and  of  Rawdon 
to  his  great  military  qualifications,  added  to  that  of  Chastel- 
lux  as  to  his  understanding  and  information,  are  sufficient  to 
establish  the  real  worth  of  his  character. 

Glover,  born  about  1735,  was,  I  believe,  of  a  wealthy 
family  of  Marblehead.  He  took  an  early  share  in  the  contest. 
Diminutive  in  person,  he  was  active  in  habit  and  a  good 
soldier.  He  had  probably  been  a  ship-owner  before  the  war, 
and  the  regiment  that  he  raised  in  1775  was  mainly  com 
posed  of  seafaring  men.  It  was  one  of  the  first  filled  up  in 
Massachusetts,  and  when  taken  into  continental  pay  still  pre 
served  its  efficiency.  The  roster  of  officers,  with  its  Wil 
liams  and  Thomases,  offers  a  contrast  to  the  Jedidiahs,  Abels, 
and  Abijahs,  the  Penuels,  Melatiahs,  and  Amoses,  who  at 
that  time  so  often  made  a  New  England  regimental  list  to 
savor  of  "  a  catalogue  of  Praise-God  Barebones's  parliament 
or  the  roll  of  one  of  old  Noll's  evangelical  armies."  In  ser 
vice  it  was  especially  exempted  from  the  sweeping  contempt 
that  was  visited  on  the  shortcomings  of  some  of  its  country 
men  by  the  middle  and  southern  soldiery.  "  The  only  ex 
ception  I  recollect  to  have  seen  to  these  miserably  constituted 
bands  from  New  England  was  the  regiment  of  Glover  from 
Marblehead.  There  was  an  appearance  of  discipline  in  this 


432  LIFE    OF    MAJOR    ANDRE. 

corps  ;  the  officers  seemed  to  have  mixed  with  the  world, 
and  to  understand  what  belonged  to  their  stations.  Though 
deficient,  perhaps,  in  polish,  it  possessed  an  apparent  aptitude 
for  the  purpose  of  its  institution,  and  gave  a  confidence  that 
myriads  of  its  meek  and  lowly  brethren  were  incompetent  to 
inspire.  But  even  in  this  regiment  there  were  a  number  of 
negroes,  which,  to  persons  unaccustomed  to  such  associations, 
had  a  disagreeable,  degrading  effect."  *  Glover's  command 
led  the  advance  in  the  passage  of  the  Delaware  at.  Trenton, 
and  its  commander  was  never  found  remiss. 

Of  Patterson  I  find  nothing  beyond  Thacher's  record  of  a 
visit  to  his  quarters  in  1781,  when  "the  general  humorously 
apologized  that  he  could  afford  us  nothing  better  than  a 
miserable  glass  of  whiskey  grog." 

Hand,  born  in  Ireland  in  1744,  came  hither  as  surgeon's 
mate  to  the  18th  or  Royal  Irish  in  1774,  and  resigning  his 
commission,  practised  medicine.  He  had  applied  for  the  post 
of  Hospital  Director  when  Washington  (Oct.  12,  1775)  wrote 
to  Congress  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  merits  of  the  respec 
tive  candidates.  He  was  named  second  lieutenant-colonel  of 
our  army  (Nov.  2,  1775)  in  Thompson's  Pennsylvania  regi 
ment,  whose  courage  before  Boston,  when  others  behaved 
with  backwardness,  was  specially  noticed  a  week  later  in 

*  Graydon,  148.  "These  were  the  lads  that  might  do  something!" 
cried  the  spectators,  as,  500  strong,  it  came  along  after  the  defeat  of  Long 
Island.  A  passage  in  the  citation  above  may  render  it  necessary  to  remark 
that  negroes  were  hardly  thought  Avorthy  to  share  in  the  struggle  for  Inde 
pendence.  The  Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress  (Oct.  1774),  being  re 
quested  in  its  efforts  to  preserve  its  constituents  from  slavery,  to  consider 
the  state  and  circumstances  of  the  Negro  Slaves  in  the  province,  refused  to 
entertain  the  question,  and  voted  that  "  the  matter  now  subside."  Accord 
ingly,  at  a  Council  of  War,  Oct.  8,  1775,  present  "Washington,  Ward,  Lee, 
Putnam,  Thomas,  Spencer,  Heath,  Sullivan,  Greene,  and  Gates,  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  to  reject  all  slaves  from  enlistment,  and,  by  a  great 
majority,  to  reject  negroes  altogether.  At  a  conference  of  a  Committee 
from  Congress  and  the  civil  authorities  of  all  NCAV  England  with  "Washing 
ton  in  the  same  month,  it  was  agreed  that  negroes  should  be  altogether 
rejected  from  enlistment  in  our  army.  —  Am.  Arch.  ±th  ser.  iii.  1040, 
1161. 


CHARACTERS  OF  OUR  GEKERALS.        433 

General  Orders.  He  was  now  brigadier  of  La  Fayette's 
corps  d'elite. 

Huntington,  born  in  1743  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in 
1763,  was  a  merchant  of  good  estate  and  ancient  family  at 
Norwich,  and  was  son-in-law  of  Governor  Trumbull.  His 
manners  were  cold,  but  he  had  acknowledged  sense  and  in 
formation  ;  and  his  virtues  must  have  been  remarkable,  since 
through  the  terms  of  four  different  occupants  of  the  presi 
dential  chair  he  retained  the  collectorship  of  cu^oms  at 
New  London  from  1789  until  he  was  removed  by  death  in 
1815. 

Stark,  born  in  1728,  seems  to  have  had  but  a  rural  educa 
tion.  But  war  had  a  charm  for  him,  and  what  military 
knowledge  could  be  acquired  by  command  of  a  partisan 
company  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  he  doubtless  possessed. 
The  assumption  of  superiority  by  the  young  British  officers 
drove  him  to  resign ;  though  his  qualities  had  gained  him  the 
confidence  of  Abercrombie,  nephew  of  the  commanding  gen 
eral,  and  of  the  young  Lord  Howe.  He  was  a  hardy,  honest, 
self-willed  man,  impatient  of  subordination  where  he  did  not 
think  it  due.  Difficulties  on  this  point  sprung  up  as  soon  as 
he  joined  our  army  in  1775  :  and  later,  he  resigned  in  dis 
content  with  being  overslaughed  in  promotions.  He  only 
resumed  arms  in  the  service  of  New  Hampshire  on  the  ex 
press  condition  of  exemption  from  obedience  to  the  orders  of 
Congress.  The  public  confidence  in  him  was  so  great  that 
John  Langdon  gave  his  money,  his  plate,  and  his  merchan 
dise,  to  set  on  foot  Stark's  opposition  to  Burgoyne  :  and  the 
Bennington  victory  was  of  such  moment  that  he  was  forth 
with  made  a  continental  brigadier.  He  felt  the  hardship  of 
the  case,  but  united  with  his  brethren  in  the  judgment  that 
Andre  was  a  spy,  and  should  be  put  to  death :  and  not  long 
after,  in  his  own  command,  hung  Lovelace  for  a  like  offence. 
He  ran  a  saw-mill  when  the  war  broke  out ;  and  is  described* 
by  Thacher  as  joining  to  an  unspotted  character  and  great 
28 


434  LIFE   OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

private  worth,  neither  the  habits  nor  the  appearance  of  an 
officer. 

Such  was  the  constitution  of  the  board  that  pronounced 
on  Andre's  case.     If  some  of  its  members  may  be  found 

Wise  without  learning,  plain  and  good, 

the  greater  part  by  far  must  be  confessed  to  have  been  of 
sufficient  education  and  of  military  training.*  Of  Washing 
ton  nolhing  need  be  said :  but  can  we  suppose  that  if  lie  and 
St.  Clair,  Stirling,  Clinton,  Howe,  and  Stark,  had  continued 
to  hold  the  king's  commission  from  the  Seven  Years'  War, 
and  now  sat  in  a  court  called  by  royal  authority,  their  deci 
sion  would  not  have  been  received  in  England  as  authorita 
tive,  especially  when  confirmed  by  the  concurrent  voices  of 
Steuben  and  La  Fayette  ?  That  the  English  leaders  sin 
cerely  thought  it  erroneous  in  principle  and  colored  with  pas 
sion  or  policy  may  not  be  questioned;  and  their  public  and 
private  respectability  enforces  our  attention  to  their  views. 
But  what  reason  is  there  to  suppose  that  prejudice  or  excite 
ment  should  sway  one  party  less  than  the  other  ?  Indeed 
the  case  appears  to  have  admitted  at  least  of  such  nice 
distinctions  that  we  cannot  refuse  the  attribute  of  perfect 
sincerity  to  both  :  for  even  within  the  last  few  years,  the 
patient  investigation  of  two  calm  and  vigorous  minds  on 
either  side  has  left  the  question  exactly  where  it  was  before. 
Lord  Mahon  is  satisfied  that  the  Americans  were  wrong. 
Major  Biddle,  whose  own  military  antecedents  give  weight 
to  his  conclusions,  is  convinced  they  were  eminently  right. 
It  might  seem  presumptuous  for  me  to  declare  positively  that 
either  side  is  in  error ;  since  after  all  the  case  was  one  not 
covered  by  any  prescription  of  the  text-books  on  the  laws  of 
nations  or  of  war  ;  and  therefore  was  apparently  to  be  gov 
erned  by  the  deductions  of  a  military  tribunal  from  the  great 

*  My  friend  Major  Charles  J.  Biddle  has  already  so  satisfactorily  gone 
over  this  ground,  as  well  as  much  more  relative  to  the  subject  of  this  book, 
that  an  apology  is  almost  necessary  for  my  treating  of  it  at  all. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  CASE.  435 

general  principles  therein  laid  down.  For  it  is  not  evident 
that  Andre  entered  our  lines  in  disguise,  which  is  one  of  the 
first  requisites  to  a  spy  from  the  enemy :  and  the  suborning 
of  a  hostile  general,  though  protested  against  by  Vattel  as 
incompatible  with  personal  purity,  is  allowed  to  be  in  ac 
cordance  with  international  law :  and  much  more  so,  he 
says,  is  it  fair  to  merely  accept  the  proposals  of  a  traitor. 
The  romantic  interest  that  has  always  been  attached  to  An 
dre's  character  has  in  a  measure  clouded  the  judgment  that 
men  would  arrive  at  as  to  his  fate :  it  will  be  well  therefore 
to  give  a  summary  here  of  the  facts  as  they  are  drawn  from 
the  story  of  not  one,  but  all  sides. 

Arnold  volunteered  to  surrender  West  Point  on  sufficient 
assurance  that  he  should  lose  neither  in  pocket  nor  in  rank 
by  so  doing.  He  demanded  that  an  agent  should  meet  him 
to  settle  the  preliminaries.  By  Clinton's  order,  Andre  went 
in  a  king's  ship  for  this  end,  expecting  the  interview  would 
occur  on  board,  or  at  least  under  a  flag  of  truce  and  not  in 
our  lines.  Arnold's  emissary  brought  him  from  the  Vulture 
in  his  uniform  and  with  a  safe-conduct  from  that  general,  but 
under  a  feigned  name,  by  night,  and  with  a  watch-coat  cover 
ing  his  person.  There  is  little  doubt  here  that  Smith  saw 
him  in  uniform,  and  that  he  had  no  intention  of  exposing 
himself  to  any  other  risk  than  of  becoming  a  prisoner  of  war. 
He  came  ashore  at  a  place  very  near  to  but  not  within  our 
lines.  Here  Arnold  met  him,  and  well  knowing  his  name 
and  quality,  under  the  plea  that  he  could  not  possibly  return 
to  the  ship  that  night,  led  him  unawares  and  against  his  stip 
ulation  within  our  picket  though  not  into  any  of  our  works. 
Andre  still  was  attired  as  when  he  landed.  He  remained 
concealed  for  nearly  a  day,  making  no  plans  or  observations, 
but  possessing  himself  of  all  the  information  Arnold  had  to 
give.  For  what  end  is  not  accurately  known  (though  Arnold 
alleges  it  was  his  direction  that  they  should  be  thus  trans 
mitted  to  Clinton)  he  took  several  important  papers  from  the 
American  general,  and  concealed  them  on  his  person.  By 


436  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

the  same  orders  he  disguised  himself,  and  abandoned  his  uni 
form  ;  and  acting  in  every  respect  by  Arnold's  direction,  and 
under  his  safe-conduct  passed  through  our  lines  into  neutral 
ground,  bearing  an  assumed  character  both  in  dress  and  in 
name.  Here  he  was  taken,  having  from  before  he  entered 
until  after  he  left  our  limits  been  known  to  and  directed  by 
our  general  there  commanding. 

In  considering  these  facts,  it  must  be  remembered  that  by 
Andre's  own  avowal  he  was,  though  involuntarily,  an  im 
postor  ;  and  that  the  boat  carried  no  flag,  nor  did  he  suppose 
he  came  ashore  under  that  sanction.  This  last  declaration 
may  be  balanced  by  the  fact  that  he  did  not  then  believe 
he  was  to  be  brought  anywhere  but  to  neutral  ground  :  but 
the  after-incidents  are  not  thus  altered.  The  question  then 
arises  whether  Arnold  had  lawfully  the  power  to  secure  him, 
by  the  means  employed,  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Amer 
icans  ?  This  is  a  point  that  military  men  must  solve.  Ar 
nold  had  undoubtedly  the  right  to  issue  safe-conducts  that 
would  protect  their  bearer  from  our  troops,  provided  the 
business  was  fair  to  our  country.  Had  he,  so  far  as  the 
bearer  was  concerned,  the  right  to  go  further  ?  How  far 
does  the  fact  that  Andre  wras  inveigled,  as  it  were,  into  a 
position  that  left  him  no  other  means  of  extrication  than  such 
as  Arnold  prescribed  affect  the  merits  of  his  case?  And 
above  all,  was  or  was  not  the  safe-conduct  given  to  him  in  a 
feigned  name  when  he  was  to  come  ashore,  equivalent  to  a 
flag? 

The  gist  of  the  American  opinion  seems  to  be  that  a  fraud 
of  this  nature  taints  everything  it  touches  ;  and  the  parties  to 
it,  if  at  all  they  are  compassed  by  the  letter  of  the  law,  are 
justly  amenable  to  punishment.  Whether  Andre  therefore 
left  the  Vulture  under  sufficient  protection  is  an  important 
question.  Had  he  openly  borne  a  flag  of  truce  sent  either 
from  his  own  party  or  by  the  Americans,  he  could  unques 
tionably  have  passed  back  under  it  at  any  season.  A  flag 
gives  its  bearer  the  sanctity  of  an  ambassador ;  the  violation 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  CASE.  437 

of  whose  safe-conduct  has  from  the  most  polished  nations  of 
antiquity  been  the  received  signal  for  rancorous  war.  "  Men 
of  Tarentum,"  said  the  Roman  legate  to  the  Greeks  that 
mocked  at  his  defiled  garments  ;  "  it  will  take  not  a  little  blood 
to  wash  this  gown."  Even  the  wild  Arabs  of  the  desert  re 
spected  the  safety  of  the  envoy  that  brought  them  the  most  in 
sulting  missives  ;  and  beyond  making  him  swallow  the  scroll, 
ventured  on  no  personal  aggression :  and  the  red  Indian 
esteems  himself  in  perfect  security  when  he  advances  with 
the  calumet  in  hand.  In  fact,  a  flag  of  truce  is  the  substitute 
for  the  ancient  herald.  In  the  first  stages  of  our  war,  "  a 
trumpeter  or  flag  of  truce  "  were  correlative  terms.  Passing 
in  the  face  of  danger,  they  courted  publicity  by  appeals  to 
eye  and  ear.  In  Canada,  Montgomery  and  Prescott  em 
ployed  a  flag  and  drum  :  and  that  his  flag-officer  was  twice 
fired  on  from  the  walls  of  Quebec  Arnold  regarded  as  a  most 
infamous  infraction  of  civilized  warfare.  So  at  Boston  in 
1775,  Howe  tartly  intimated  to  Washington  that  our  people 
so  constantly  fired  upon  his  officers  returning  from  parleys 
applied  for  by  ourselves,  that  he  desired  no  intercourse  be 
tween  the  two  armies  should  continue,  except  where  Wash 
ington  would  send  his  own  letters  in  by  a  drummer  :  and  in 
the  turmoil  before  Yorktovvn,  the  flag  that  proposed  surrender 
was  accompanied  by  a  drum  beating  a  parley.  The  after- 
passage  of  flags  without  a  drum  was  especially  commented 
on.  But  the  drum  and  trumpet  were  lawfully  hushed  when 
armies  were  not  met  face  to  face :  and  then  it  is  possible 
that  a  safe-conduct  may  have  been  equivalent  to  a  flag  of 
truce.  Robertson  took  this  view :  but  it  does  not  clearly  ap 
pear  whether  Greene  denied  it  in  toto,  or  merely  held  that 
Andre  did  not  come  ashore  with  anything  in  the  form  of  a 
protection. 

To  my  mind  it  is  clear  that  as  his  errand  was  of  a  nature 
directly  opposed  to  the  end  for  which  flags  are  designed,  and 
as  he  was  detected  in  an  appearance  of  guilt,  it  would  re 
quire  a  very  strong  case  to  exonerate  Andre  from  punish- 


438  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,, 

ment.  The  reader  must  decide  whether  such  a  case  was 
made  out  by  his  friends.  If  he  was  within  our  lines  under  a 
flag,  why  did  he  not  return  under  its  protection  ?  If  he  was 
not  thus  guarded,  in  what  capacity  was  he  there  ? 

The  tendency  of  some  writers  to  suppose  that  the  moment 
a  man  becomes  a  spy  he  puts  himself  out  of  humanity's 
reach  has  probably  warped  many  judgments  on  this  matter. 
In  point  of  fact,  there  is  nothing  in  the  history  of  ancient  or 
modern  warfare  to  warrant  such  a  theory.  That  in  the  ab 
stract  the  proceeding  is  no  more  defensible  than  manslaying, 
cannot  be  denied  :  but  it  is  with  the  customs  of  this  world,  not 
with  sublimated  abstractions,  that  we  have  to  do.  We  will 
pass  over  the  examples  of  the  Jews,  because  this  people's 
ways  in  war  or  in  peace  were  almost  peculiar  to  themselves.* 
But  "in  the  most  high  and  palmy  state  of  Rome"  we  find 
spies  and  deserters  constantly  encouraged.  The  Spaniard 
Balbus,  the  friend  alike  of  Pornpey  and  of  Caesar,  acquired 
unprecedented  honors  through  such  secret  service  in  a  civil 
war:  and  his  name  is  immortalized  by  the  eloquence  of 
Cicero.  Constantine,  the  upholder  of  our  faith,  esteemed  it 
no  degradation  to  seduce  his  opponent's  followers  :  and  an 
other  Caesar  did  not  think  the  imperial  purple  was  sullied  by 
entering  the  Persian  camp  as  a  spy,  and  following  up  his 
explorations  with  a  prodigious  rout.  By  such  means  Alfred 
drove  the  Danes  from  England.  Nor  need  we  rest  upon  the 
dusty  records  of  by-gone  ages  :  the  annals  of  modern  war 
fare  furnish  abundant  and  far  more  valuable  examples  of  the 
light  in  which  the  character  and  services  of  a  spy  are  held. 
In  the  Peninsular  War  they  were  freely  employed  by  all 

*  Though  Joshua  indeed  sent  his  spies  down  into  the  promised  land,  we 
do  not  want  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Old  Testament  has 
taught  people  to  deal  with  such  characters.  The  Calvinist  minister  who 
urged  the  Rochellois  to  slay  the  king's  trumpeter  bringing  proposals  to  the 
revolted  city  found  a  text  for  even  further  proceedings.  "  If  any  one  entice 
thee  secretly  to  go  and  worship  other  gods,  thou  shalt  surely  kill  him  :  thine 
hand  shall  he  first  upon  him  to  put  him  to  death,  and  afterwards  the  hand 
of  all  the  people."  — Merimee:  Charles  IX.  c.  25. 


EMPLOYMENT  OF  SPIES.  439 

parties,  and  were  not  necessarily  thought  base.  Wellington 
had  a  legion  of  them  in  the  French  lines,  from  the  haughty 
grandee  who  boasted  a  sang  azul  noble  as  the  king's,  to  the 
little  cobbler  on  the  bridge  of  Irun,  who  sat  on  his  bench  and 
from  one  year's  end  to  another  kept  tale  of  every  French 
soldier  that  entered  Spain.  British  officers  also  notably  acted 
in  the  field  as  spies :  and  where  double  treason  was  not 
wrought  Napier  says  all  these  characters  were  highly  meri 
torious.  Carrara  did  not  scruple  to  offer  honors  and  wealth 
to  Ney  if  he  would  desert  his  standard :  and  Napoleon  him 
self,  not  only  by  allurements  but  more  unjustifiably  by  sever 
ities,  sought  to  bring  to  his  own  aid  the  professional  services 
of  persons  over  whom  the  fortunes  of  war  gave  him  power.* 
There  is  one  case  in  particular  however  in  these  times  that 
strongly  reminds  us  of  Andre's. 

In  1809,  the  imperial  ambition  of  Bonaparte  excited  the 
republican  officers  to  look  to  St.  Cyr  or  Ney  as  a  leader  in 
its  repression.  John  Viana,  the  son  of  an  Oporto  merchant, 
brought  proposals  from  the  French  plotters  to  Marshal  Beres- 
ford,  asking  that  an  English  officer  should  meet  them  to 
arrange  the  plan  of  action,  which  involved  the  seizure  and 
surrender  of  Soult,  their  leader.  "  This  was  a  detestable 

*  Captain  Colquhoun  Grant  was  the  most  famous  English  spy  in  the 
Peninsular  War,  though  he  always  kept  his  uniform.  Being  employed  by 
Wellington  to  ascertain  Marmont's  route,  and  thus  his  purpose,  he  got  in 
front  of  the  French  and  after  a  hard  chase  was  run  down.  Marmont  re 
ceived  him  kindly,  for  he  was  overjoyed  at  the  capture,  and  sat  him  down 
to  dinner.  "  I  would  have  shot  him  on  the  spot,"  he  said,  "  had  it  not 
been  for  respect  to  something  resembling  a  uniform  that  he  wore  when 
taken."  But  he  took  his  parole  not  to  be  rescued  by  guerillas  on  the  road 
(Wellington  having  offered  $2000  reward  for  his  recovery)  and  sent  him  to 
Bayonne  with  secret  orders  to  the  governor  there  to  send  him  in  irons  to 
Paris.  Grant  wormed  out  this  secret;  and  eloping  at  Bayonne,  went  him 
self  to  Paris  and  remained  there  unsuspected  till  he  heard  one  day  that  an 
American  sailor  named  Jonathan  Buck  had  suddenly  died,  leaving  his  pass 
port  uncalled  for  at  the  Bureau.  He  at  once  claimed  it,  pretending  to  be 
Buck ;  hastened  to  the  mouth  of  the  Loire ;  got  a  clandestine  passage  on  a 
vessel;  and  in  four  months  from  his  original  capture  he  was  again  playing 
around  the  skirts  of  the  French  in  Spain. 


440  LIFE  01    MAJOR  ANDRE. 

project,"  says  Napier,  "  for  it  is  not  in  the  field,  and  with  a 
foreign  enemy,  that  soldiers  should  concert  the  overthrow  of 
their  country's  institutions.  It  would  be  idle  and  impertinent 
in  a  foreigner  to  say  how  much  and  how  long  men  shall  bear 
with  what  they  deem  an  oppressive  government ;  yet  there 
is  a  distinct  and  especial  loyalty  due  from  a  soldier  to  his 
general  in  the  field ;  a  compact  of  honor,  which  it  is  singu 
larly  base  to  violate,  and  so  it  has  in  all  ages  been  con 
sidered."  An  English  colonel  in  uniform  reluctantly  went 
by  night  to  meet  them  on  a  lake  behind  the  French  outposts. 
They  missed  each  other,  and  returning  he  found  Viana  and 
the  French  Adjutant-Major  D'Argenton  in  the  English  lines. 
The  latter  boldly  went  on  to  Beresford  at  Lisbon,  conceiving 
his  backers  too  numerous  and  powerful  for  him  to  incur  much 
danger  in  his  own  army.  Wellerley  did  not  give  the  plan 
very  hearty  encouragement  ;  and  when  D'Argenton  came 
back  a  second  time  (the  first  essay  being  unnoticed  or  un 
punished)  he  gave  him  the  good  advice  to  avoid  receiving  an 
English  safe-conduct.  The  warning  was  disregarded.  D'Ar 
genton  was  discovered  and  condemned :  but  the  punishment 
was  not  executed,  and  he  finally  escaped.  Others,  French 
colonels,  also  conferred  with  Sir  Arthur  in  his  campaigns  : 
nor  must  we  forget  Don  Uran  de  la  Rosa,  whom  the  English 
thought  a  Spaniard,  the  Spanish  an  Italian,  the  French  no 
one  knows  what,  and  the  mystified  Alava,  Cagliostro  or  some 
such  wizard  :  and  who  dined  alternately  in  the  opposing 
camps,  carrying  intelligence  indifferently  to  either  side.  The 
case  of  the  Frenchman  Perron,  who  came  over  from  Sindia 
in  1803  on  overtures  from  Lord  Lake,  was  not  unlike  Ar 
nold's. 

In  our  Revolution  then  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find 
that  the  employment  of  spies  was  practised  on  the  most  ex 
tensive  scale  from  the  very  outset.  In  the  siege  of  Boston, 
John  Carnes,  a  grocer,  is  commemorated  as  Washington's 
secret  intelligencer ;  and  by  handbills  sent  in  on  the  wind 
the  troops  were  tempted  to  desert  and  to  supply  our  own 


EMPLOYMENT  OF   SPIES.  441 

ranks.  In  1775  also,  by  order  of  Congress  two  persons  were 
privately  sent  by  our  general  to  Nova  Scotia,  to  discover  its 
strong  places  and  to  tamper  with  the  people.  In  England 
we  had  a  perfect  corps  of  spies  ;  some  of  them  men  of  posi 
tion.  In  New  York,  Washington  maintained  through  the 
war,  and  particularly  in  1779  and  1780,  an  organization  that 
under  the  guise  of  zealous  loyalists  never  failed  to  advise 
him  instantly  of  any  considerable  movement.  These  kept 
their  secret  so  well  that  at  the  evacuation  he  had  to  send 
Tallmadge  in  while  yet  Carleton  held  the  town,  to  provide 
for  the  safety  of  his  agents.  One  who  had  never  been  sus 
pected  was  caught  tempting  soldiers  to  desert,  and  hanged  at 
Brunswick.  Another,  whose  observations  perhaps  on  occa 
sion  saved  Washington's  life,  was  able  by  his  connections 
with  the  West  Indian  house  of  Kortwright  and  Company, 
to  unsuspectedly  pick  up  much  useful  information  for  our 
army.  Yet  his  character  was  so  little  affected  by  these  trans 
actions  that  he  remained  the  valued  friend  of  both  Ham 
ilton  and  Washington  ;  and  it  was  perhaps  to  set  his  patriotism 
straight  in  the  popular  view  that  our  general  on  the  final  en 
trance  into  the  city  took  his  first  breakfast  at  his  house. 
Arnold  had  him  seized  and  tried  hard  to  hang  him,  when  he 
came  over ;  but  there  was  not  enough  evidence.*  It  was  be 
lieved  when  Clinton  started  to  relieve  Cornwallis,  that  by 
means  of  a  white  flag  displayed  on  a  roof  in  New  York  and 
answered  by  a  gun  about  a  mile  from  Paulus  Hook,  the  ex 
pedition  was  betrayed  to  the  Americans  and  the  news  tele 
graphed  600  miles  on  to  Washington  in  forty-eight  hours. 
Congress  itself  not  only  retained  spies  in  that  city,  but 
chrough  the  war  left  no  stone  unturned  to  sap  the  fidelity 

*  Hamilton's  Hist.  Rep.  i.  46,  527.  It  may  have  been  to  this  person  that 
Washington  refers  in  his  letter  to  Congress,  Oct.  15,  1780 :  —  "  Unluckily 
the  person  in  whom  I  have  the  greatest  confidence  is  afraid  to  take  any 
measure  for  communicating  with  me  just  at  this  time,  as  he  is  apprehen 
sive  that  Arnold  may  possibly  have  some  knowledge  of  the  connection,  and 
may  have  him  watched.  But  as  he  is  assured  that  Arnold  has  not  the 
most  distant  hint  of  him,  I  expect  soon  to  hear  from  him  as  usual." 


442  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDR&. 

of  the  enemy's  army  ;  offering  particularly  great  pecuniary 
temptations  to  officers  to  desert  with  their  commands.  The 
English  did  the  same ;  and  both  sides  had  some  success. 
A  regular  spy  association  for  the  enemy  ramified  through 
Norwalk,  Stratford,  and  other  Connecticut  towns  ;  and  our 
generals  were  pestered  with  more  than  one  such  a  '•  sly,  art 
ful  fellow  "  as  JMcKeel,  seducing  the  soldiers  and  getting  re 
cruits  for  the  British.  In  fact,  La  Fayette  and  every  other 
general  hesitated  not  to  use  a  spy  ;  and  the  better  the  man 
the  better  was  the  intelligence.  In  the  same  year  that  An 
dre  was  hanged,  Washington  applied  to  Bowdoin  and  Heath 
for  some  draughtsmen  of  superior  understanding,  firmness, 
and  fidelity,  to  clandestinely  make  plans  for  him  of  the  ene 
my's  works ;  and  if  he  sometimes  found  his  own  secrets 
betrayed  to  Clinton,  he  did  not  scruple  to  mislead  the  go- 
betweens  with  false  intelligence.  Such  courses  are  sanctioned 
by  the  customs  of  war,  and  if  Rush's  plan  of  sending  a  Ger 
man  baron  into  Howe's  lines  to  seduce  the  Hessians  found 
favor  in  American  eyes,  the  British  thought  it  as  fair  to 
seek  to  allure  Sullivan,  Moultrie,  Ethan  Allen,  and  others, 
to  exchange  their  service  and  break  their  faith  :  a  severe 
construction  of  the  law  might  even  have  brought  Franklin, 
Chase,  and  Carroll  into  an  awkward  predicament  had  their 
Canadian  mission  left  them  in  Carleton's  hands.  Indeed  the 
action  of  Arnold  was  for  the  moment  fondly  believed  in 
England  to  have  been  shared  by  his  fellows;  and  the  names 
of  Knox  and  Sterling,  Howe,  Sullivan,  and  Maxwell,  were 
ridiculously  bandied  about  as  of  fallers-off  from  the  cause. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  observe  that  our  Congress  had  in 
1778  clearly  announced  the  rigor  with  which  they  would  on 
necessity  deal  with  any  but  an  unimpeachable  flag.  Lieu- 
tanant  Hele  was  sent  from  New  York  with  a  flag  of  truce 
to  Philadelphia,  bearing  copies  of  the  Commissioners'  Mani 
festo  addressed  to  Congress,  the  several  legislatures,  the 
clergy,  the  army,  and  the  people  at  large.  His  vessel  was 
wrecked,  and  after  some  suffering  and  loss  of  life  the  crew 


REFLECTIONS  ON  ANDRE'S  FATE.  443 

were  rescued  and  brought  to  Philadelphia.  Congress  thereon 
resolved  that  the  nature  of  Hele's  mission  was  not  to  be 
protected  by  a  flag,  and  threatened  for  some  time  to  proceed 
to  extremes  with  him.  It  is  said,  but  with  no  evidence  of 
truth,  that  during  his  prolonged  detention  Hele  avenged  him 
self,  by  seducing  Arnold.  But  this  and  other  instances 
plainly  showed  that  Congress  was  not  to  be  restrained  on 
occasion  from  restricting  the  sanctity  of  flags  to  its  narrowest 
limits. 

The  inflexibility  with  which  Washington  regarded  Andre's 
case  has  been  the  subject  of  severe  criticism.  But  the  pub 
lic  weal  was  in  my  opinion  the  motive  as  well  as  the  measure 
of  his  conduct.  Emergences  sometimes  spring  up  in  which 
it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether  the  general  good  does  or  does 
not  demand  unshrinking  severity  :  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  no  offence  so  tends  to  shake  the  stern  impartiality  of 
the  sovereign  authority  as  that  which  seems  to  threaten  the 
subversion  of  all  its  rights  and  powers.  Yet  had  Brutus 
failed  to  doom  his  son  to  death,  we  are  well  advised  that  the 
unsettled  liberties  of  Rome  would  have  perished  in  their 
cradle.  The  necessities  of  the  state  is  proverbially  the  ty 
rant's  plea ;  but  how  often  do  we  see  its  advantages  practi 
cally  illustrated  in  the  increased  welfare  of  the  community. 
Every  one  recollects  how  many  Sepoys  in  the  late  Indian 
rebellion  were  blown  into  fragments  on  this  pretext ;  yet 
who  will  say  that,  with  regard  to  humanity  at  large,  real 
mercy  did  not  here  temper  justice  ?  No  civilized  nation  hes 
itates  to  fulfil  to  the  bitter  end  the  rescripts  of  its  tribunals, 
when  national  existence  is  threatened  with  destruction  by  len 
ity.  We  have  Mr.  Fox's  authority  (and  better  is  not  to  be 
obtained)  for  saying  that  the  brother  of  the  king  of  France  — 
1'Homme  au  Masque  de  Fer  —  was  by  state  policy  the  inmate 
of  a  dungeon  from  his  cradle  to  his  bier.  If  we  turn  to  Eng 
lish  annals  we  find  so  late  as  1815  the  first  jurists  of  the  land 
—  one  might  nearly  say  of  the  world  —  discussing  the  fate 
of  Napoleon.  Lord  Ellenborough,  Sir  William  Grant,  the 


444  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE. 

great  Stowell,  —  whose  interpretations  of  international  law 
may  almost  be  considered  as  its  text,  —  the  Chancellor  Eldon 
—  all  were  ranged,  "  a  terrible  show,"  in  solemn  conclave  on 
the  destiny  of  one  whose  fiat  had  lately  made  Europe  trem 
ble.  A  more  lofty  tribunal  never  judged  a  greater  man; 
yet  the  diversity  of  opinion  that  arose  sets  the  conflicting 
sentiments  on  Andre's  case  utterly  in  the  background.  This 
man  was  for  giving  him  up  to  Louis  XVIII.  to  be  tried  for 
treason  ;  that,  for  setting  him  at  perfect  liberty  ;  and  the 
next,  that  he  was  a  mere  pirate  — "  hostis  humani  generis 
carrying  about  with  him  caput  lupinum"  The  solution  of 
the  business  was,  in  Eldon's  common-sense  view,  —  "that  the 
case  was  not  provided  for  by  anything  to  be  found  in  Gro- 
tius  or  Vattel,  but  that  the  law  of  self-preservation  would 
justify  the  keeping  of  him  under  restraint  in  some  dis 
tant  region,  where  he  should  be  treated  with  all  indulgence 
compatible  with  the  peace  of  mankind."  Here  principles 
supplied  the  want  of  precedent  as  perfectly  as  in  Andre's 
case. 

But  when  all  is  spoken,  shall  we  pronounce  Andre's  an 
unhappy  fate  ?  Has  not  the  great  law  of  compensation 
gilded  his  name  with  a  lustre  that  in  life  could  never,  with 
all  his  ardent  longing  for  fame,  have  entered  into  his  most 
sanguine  hopes  ?  If  he  perished  by  an  ignominious  mean*,  he 
perished  not  ignominiously  :  if  he  died  the  death  of  a  felon, 
it  was  with  the  tears,  the  regrets,  the  admiration  of  all  that 
was  worthy  and  good  in  the  ranks  alike  of  friend  and  of  foe. 
The  heartiest  enemies  of  his  nation  joined  with  its  chiefs  in 
sounding  his  praises  and  lamenting  his  lot.  If  reputation 
was  his  goal,  who  of  his  compeers  has  surpassed  him  in  the 
race  ?  If  we  turn  to  his  own  army,  we  see  some  protracting 
an  unnoted  existence,  some  laid  on  the  shelf  and  repining  in 
obscurity,  some  haltingly  keeping  a  place  in  the  world's  eye 
less  by  merit  than  by  fortune.  Abercrombie  it  is  true  died 
happily  in  the  arms  of  victory ;  while  Simcoe  sunk  at  the 
moment  when  the  pathway  to  the  glory  that  none  more 


REFLECTIONS  ON  ANDRE'S  FATE.  445 

coveted  and  that  few  were  so  capable  to  attain  was  fairly 
laid  open  to  him.  Despard,  his  social  messmate  and  fellow- 
prisoner,  succumbed  to  the  laws  of  his  own  land.  The 
generous  Rawdon,  his  predecessor  in  the  Adjutant-generalcy, 
born  to  a  princely  title  and  a  princely  estate,  with  talents  and 
courage  equal  to  the  highest  posts,  frittered  away  fortune  and 
existence  in  dependence  on  the  selfish  friendship  of  the 
Prince  Regent;  and  after  experiencing  the  disappointment 
of  having  the  cup  of  power  raised  to  his  lips  but  to  be 
snatched  away,  was  dismissed  into  the  "  splendid  banishment  " 
of  the  Antipodes  where  the  brave  Mathew,  a  brother  soldier 
in  the  American  war,  had  already  found  a  death  so  horrid 
that  Andre's  was  an  enviable  fate.  Nay,  the  very  sovereign 
he  served  so  faithfully  and  well,  might  have  been  glad  to  ex 
change  conditions  with  him.  Old,  mad,  and  blind,  with  a 
soul  as  darkened  as  were  his  organs  of  sense,  he  lingered  out 
his  weary  days  in  a  secluded  and  guarded  chamber  under  the 
control  of  keepers  whom  his  few  glimpses  of  returning  un 
derstanding  announced  as  men  that  had  subjected  his  person 
to  the  indignity  of  the  rod.  And  of  the  Americans  with 
whom  Andre  had  to  do,  how  sad  was  often  their  career ; 
where  decrepitude  and  poverty  came  hand  in  hand,  and  the 
ingratitude  of  the  empire  they  had  cradled  as  it  were  in  their 
bucklers  and  christened  with  their  best  blood,  was  at  once 
their  ruin  and  its  shame.*  The  man  among  them  who  took 
the  warmest  interest  in  Andre's  condition,  whose  efforts  to 
save  his  life  were  equal  to  the  affectionate  praise  that  he 
gave  his  memory,  was  doomed  to  as  hard  a  destiny.  Four 
and  twenty  years  after  the  execution  at  Tappaan  the  same 
river  that  flowed  within  view  of  the  gibbet  passed  the  shore 
where  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  foremost  man  in  all  this 
western  world,  was  shot  to  death.  Henry  Lee,  from  whose 
intervention  the  amelioration  of  Andre's  fate  was  so  hoped 

*  The  half-pay  for  life,  pledged  by  Congress  to  the  officers  that  held  out 
in  its  cause,  and  the  solitary  dependence  of  many  of  them,  is  not  paid  to 
this  day. 


446  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  ANDRF,. 

for,  survived  to  fall  into  the  most  distressing  poverty,  and, 
after  being  brutally  beaten  by  the  American  mob,  to  be  "  cast 
into  a  loathsome  jail,  and  subjected  to  the  combined  persecu 
tion  of  political  rancour,  personal  cupidity,  and  vulgar 
malice."  And  Washington  himself  lived  to  hear  his  coun 
trymen  deny  to  him  the  possession  of  either  military  or  civil 
merit ;  to  endure  the  necessity  of  relieving  his  character  from 
the  charge  of  official  peculation  ;  to  be  told  that  his  misdeeds 
had  polluted  the  presidential  ermine  to  an  extent  almost  ir 
remediable  ;  and  to  die  not  universally  regretted  by  the 
American  people.  Surely  there  are  as  bitter  crosses  in  the 
worthiest  life  as  any  which  befell  Andre. 

In  the  fulfilment  of  an  enterprise  which  as  he  fondly  be 
lieved  would,  if  successful,  crown  him  with  the  honors  due 
to  the  man  who  had  restored  harmony  to  a  divided  empire, 
extinguished  the  flames  of  civil  war,  and  gilded  with  renewed 
lustre  the  arms  of  his  country,  Andre  perished.  His  motives, 
inimical  as  they  were  to  our  cause,  were  eminently  respect 
able,  and  no  otherwise  alloyed  with  personal  ambition  than 
is  allowable  to  all  human  hands  that  seek  to  serve  the  state. 
He  died  in  the  morning  of  his  life,  before  success  had  stained 
with  envy  the  love  that  all  who  knew  him  bestowed  upon 
his  worth  ;  ere  -his  illusions  of  youth  were  dispelled,  and 
while  the  wine  was  yet  bright  in  his  cup  and  the  lees  un- 
tasted.  His  dust  is  laid  with  that  of  kings  and  heroes  ;  and 
his  memory  drawing  as  a  jewel  from  its  foil  fresh  brightness 
from  his  death  — 

Of  every  royal  virtue  stands  possess'd; 
Still  dear  to  all  the  bravest  and  the  best. 
His  courage  foes,  his  friends  his  truth  proclaim, 
His  loyalty  the  king,  the  world  his  fame ! 


APPENDIX  No.  I. 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 

I  SHALL  refrain  from  lengthening  this  note  by  the  insertion  of 
some  curious  unpublished  documents  respecting  Arnold's  earlier 
career,  and  confine  myself  entirely  to  such  matters  as  may  not  be 
generally  known  relative  to  his  history  after  it  became  connected 
with  Andre's.  The  reader  will  find  in  The  Life  of  Arnold,  by 
Mr.  Sparks,  an  accurate  and  skilfully  drawn  account  of  his  gen 
eral  history.  Mr.  Sabine,  whose  opportunities  of  procuring  infor 
mation  about  the  Loyalists  were  very  great,  declares  it  certain  that 
Arnold  was  in  communication  with  Robinson  before  he  went  to 
West  Point ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  letter  which  Marbois  says 
was  found  among  his  papers  and  was  the  first  overture  received 
from  an  agent  of  Clinton's  was  written  by  Robinson.  It  is  re 
translated  here  from  the  French  version. 

"  Among  the  Americans  who  have  joined  the  rebel  standard, 
there  are  very  many  good  citizens  whose  only  object  has  been 
the  happiness  of  their  country.  Such  men  will  not  be  influenced 
by  motives  of  private  interest  to  abandon  the  cause  they  have 
espoused.  They  are  now  offered  everything  which  can  render 
the  colonies  really  happy ;  and  this  is  the  only  compensation 
worthy  of  their  virtue. 

"  The  American  colonies  shall  have  their  parliament,  composed 
of  two  chambers,  with  all  its  members  of  American  birth.  Those 
of  the  upper  house  shall  have  titles  and  rank  similar  to  those  of 
the  house  of  peers  in  England.  All  their  laws,  and  particularly 
such  as  relate  to  money  matters,  shall  be  the  production  of  this 
assembly,  with  the  concurrence  of  a  viceroy.  Commerce,  in 
every  part  of  the  globe  subject  to  British  sway,  shall  be  as  free  to 
the  people  of  the  thirteen  colonies  as  to  the  English  of  Europe. 
They  will  enjoy,  in  every  sense  of  the  phrase,  the  blessings  of 


448  APPENDIX. 

good  government.  They  shall  be  sustained,  in  time  of  need,  by 
all  the  power  necessary  to  uphold  them,  without  being  themselves 
exposed  to  the  dangers  or  subjected  to  the  expenses  that  are  al 
ways  inseparable  from  the  condition  of  a  State. 

"  Such  are  the  terms  proffered  by  England  in  the  very  moment 
when  she  is  displaying  extraordinary  efforts  to  conquer  the  obe 
dience  of  her  colonies. 

"  Shall  America  remain  without  limitation  of  time  a  scene  of 
desolation  —  or  are  you  desirous  of  enjoying  Peace  and  all  the 
blessings  of  her  train  ?  Shall  your  provinces,  as  in  former  days, 
flourish  under  the  protection  of  the  most  puissant  nation  of  the 
world  ?  Or  will  you  forever  pursue  that  shadow  of  liberty  which 
still  escapes  from  your  hand  even  when  in  the  act  of  grasping  it  ? 
And  how  soon  would  that  very  liberty,  once  obtained,  turn  into 
licentiousness,  if  it  be  not  under  the  safeguard  of  a  great  Euro 
pean  -power  ?  Will  you  rely  upon  the  guaranty  of  France  ? 
They  among  you  whom  she  has  seduced  may  assure  you  that  her 
assistance  will  be  generous  and  disinterested,  and  that  she  will 
never  exact  from  you  a  servile  obedience.  They  are  frantic  with 
joy  at  the  alliance  already  established,  and  promise  you  that 
Spain  will  immediately  follow  the  example  of  France.  Are  they 
ignorant  that  each  of  these  States  has  an  equal  interest  in  keeping 
you  under,  and  will  combine  to  accomplish  their  end  ?  Thou 
sands  of  men  have  perished ;  immense  resources  have  been  ex 
hausted  ;  and  yet,  since  that  fatal  alliance  the  dispute  has  become 
more  embittered  than  ever.  Everything  urges  us  to  put  a  conclu 
sion  to  dissensions  not  less  detrimental  to  the  victors  than  to  the 
vanquished  :  but  desirable  as  peace  is,  it  cannot  be  negotiated  and 
agreed  upon  between  us  as  between  two  independent  powers ;  it 
is  necessary  that  a  decisive  advantage  should  put  Britain  in  a  con 
dition  to  dictate  the  terms  of  reconciliation.  It  is  her  interest  as 
well  as  her  policy  to  make  these  as  advantageous  to  one  side  as 
the  other ;  but  it  is  at  the  same  time  advisable  to  arrive  at  it  with 
out  an  unnecessary  waste  of  that  blood  of  which  we  are  already 
as  sparing  as  though  it  were  again  our  own. 

"  There  is  no  one  but  General  Arnold  who  can  surmount  ob 
stacles  so  great  as  these.  A  man  of  so  much  courage  will  never 
despair  of  the  republic,  even  when  every  door  to  a  reconciliation 
seems  sealed. 

"  Bender  then,  brave  general,  this  important  service  to  your 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  449 

country.  The  colonies  cannot  sustain  much  longer  the  unequal 
strife.  Your  troops  are  perishing  in  misery.  They  are  badly 
armed,  half  naked,  and  crying  for  bread.  The  efforts  of  Congress 
are  futile  against  the  languor  of  the  people.  Your  fields  are  un- 
tilled,  trade  languishes,  learning  dies.  The  neglected  education 
of  a  whole  generation  is  an  irreparable  loss  to  society.  Your 
youth,  torn  by  thousands  from  their  rustic  pursuits  or  useful  em 
ployments,  are  mown  down  by  war.  Such  as  survive  have  lost 
the  vigour  of  their  prime,  or  are  maimed  in  battle :  the  greater 
part  bring  back  to  their  families  the  idleness  and  the  corrupt  man 
ners  of  the  camp.  Let  us  put  an  end  to  so  many  calamities  ;  you 
and  ourselves  have  the  same  origin,  the  same  language,  the  same 
laws.  We  are  inaccessible  in  our  island  ;  and  you,  the  masters 
of  a  vast  and  fertile  territory,  have  no  other  neighbours  than  the 
people  of  our  loyal  colonies.  We  possess  rich  establishments  in 
every  quarter  of  the  globe  and  reign  over  the  fairest  portions  of 
Hindostan.  The  ocean  is  our  home,  and  we  pass  across  it  as  a 
monarch  traversing  his  dominions.  From  the  northern  to  the 
southern  pole,  from  the  east  to  the  west,  our  vessels  find  every 
where  a  neighbouring  harbor  belonging  to  Great  Britain.  So 
many  islands,  so  many  countries  acknowledging  our  sway,  are  all 
ruled  by  a  uniform  system  that  bears  on  every  feature  the  stamp  of 
liberty,  yet  is  as  well  adapted  to  the  genius  of  different  nations 
and  of  various  climes. 

"  While  the  Continental  powers  ruin  themselves  by  war,  and 
are  exhausted  in  erecting  the  ramparts  that  separate  them  from 
each  other,  our  bulwarks  are  our  ships.  They  enrich  us ;  they 
protect  us  ;  they  provide  us  as  readily  with  the  means  of  invading 
our  enemies  as  of  succouring  our  friends. 

"  Beware  then  of  breaking  forever  the  links  and  ties  of  a  friend 
ship  whose  benefits  are  proven  by  the  experience  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  Time  gives  to  human  institutions  a  strength 
which  what  is  new  can  only  attain,  in  its  turn,  by  the  lapse  of 
ages.  Royalty  itself  experiences  the  need  of  this  useful  prestige : 
and  the  race  that  has  reigned  over  us  for  sixty  years  has  been 
illustrious  for  ten  centuries. 

"  United  in  equality  we  will  rule  the  universe  :  we  will  hold 
it  bound,  not  by  arms  and  violence,  but  by  the  ties  of  com 
merce  ;  the  lightest  and  most  gentle  bands  that  humankind  can 
wear." 

29 


450  APPENDIX. 

By  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Bancroft  I  am  able  to  give  the  precise 
sum  that  Arnold  received  in  satisfaction  of  his  alleged  losses 
through  his  defection.  It  was  £6315  ;  of  which  he  remitted  £5000 
to  London  to  be  invested  in  stocks,  and  procured  therefrom 
£7000  four  per  cent,  consols.  It  must  be  recollected  that  such 
compensation  was  customary  when  an  officer  went  over  by  pre 
vious  arrangement  from  one  standard  to  another.  In  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war,  when  Lee's  capacity  was  held  of  the  chiefest 
importance  to  our  cause,  he  refused  to  give  up  his  British  rank  by 
entering  our  service  till  a  committee  of  one  from  every  colony  in 
Congress  had  heard  his  statement  of  probable  losses,  and  agreed 
to  indemnify  him  therefor.  Arnold  also  got  a  brigadiership  from 
the  English.  "  Had  the  scheme  succeeded,"  wrote  an  officer  of 
the  Coldstreams,  "  no  rank  would  have  overpaid  so  important  a 
service  " ;  and  I  am  told  on  good  authority  that  the  prevailing 
sentiment  of  the  royal  army  esteemed  his  proceedings  a  proper 
return  to  right  principles  and  conduct.  The  monev  lie  not  how 
ever  was  a  scoff  to  our  friends.  The  banker's  receipt  of  his  re 
mittance  was  found  in  a  captured  vessel,  and  Franklin  wrote  of  it 
to  La  Fayette  :  :'  Judas  sold  only  one  man,  Arnold  three  millions. 
Judas  got  for  his  one  man  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  Arnold  not  a 
halfpenny  a  head."  Mr.  Sparks  says  a  pension  was  after  the  Avar 
given  to  each  of  Arnold's  children;  and  in  1782,  William  Lee 
wrote  to  our  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs:  —  "  The  late  British 
Ministry  died  as  they  had  lived,  for  one  of  their  last  official  acts 
was  to  give  the  traitor  Arnold,  by  patent,  one  thousand  pounds 
sterling  pension  per  annum  for  his  and  his  wife's  lives." 

Arnold  was  active  enough  in  the  British  cause.  It  was  re 
ported,  though  apparently  untruly,  that  he  had  fifty  of  the  warm 
est  Whigs  in  New  York  seized  immediately  on  his  arrival.  On 
the  28th  Oct.  1780,  he  wrote  to  Lord  George  Germain,  advising 
England  to  assume  the  arrears  of  pay,  at  most  £500,000,  of  our 
soldiers  enlisted  for  the  war,  or  to  offer  a  bounty  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
guineas  to  every  deserter,  half  down,  the  rest  at  the  end  of  the 
contest.  He  thought  the  offer  of  a  title  to  Washington  would  have 
a  good  effect:  and  if  arms  instead  of  seduction  were  to  be  pursued, 
pointed  out  how  he  might  be  brought  to  action  and  beaten.  His 
own  sacrifices  swell  the  remainder  of  this  letter.  (MS.  S.  P.  O. 
R.  30  Nov.)  The  hatred  of  the  Americans,  however,  went  far 
beyond  the  praise  of  the  English.  It  reminds  us  of  that  of  the 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  451 

Persians  for  Omar :  and  if  the  caliph's  name  signified  the  devil, 
Arnold's  became  synonymous  with  everything  that  is  bad  in  our 
political  vocabulary.  "  May  this  arrow  go  to  the  heart  of 
Omar !  "  said  the  Persians  when  they  bent  the  bow  :  and  no  effort 
of  our  leaders  was  spared  to  get  the  defaulter  in  their  hands, 
where  short  rope,  short  shrift  would  have  been  his  doom.  Wash 
ington  set  on  foot  a  plan  for  his  seizure  :  La  Fayette  ordered 
that  he  should,  if  captured,  be  expressly  prevented  from  sur 
rendering  as  a  prisoner  of  war:  Jefferson  thought  a  bribe  of 
5000  guineas  would  ensure  a  successful  kidnapping  dash  into  his 
camp.  Of  Washington's  enterprise,  in  which  Harry  Lee  and 
sergeant  Champe  figure  so  romantically,  little  need  be  said  here, 
since  the  story  has  already  been  well  told  and  roundly  criticized. 
Jefferson  calls  it  an  historical  romance,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
its  main  facts  are  generally  true  ;  that  Champe  was  induced  to  de 
sert  and  enter  the  English  service  under  Arnold,  with  the  design 
of  kidnapping  him.  A  Mr.  Baldwin  of  Newark  was  procured  to 
see  Champe  daily  in  New  York,  and  aid  him  in  the  project :  for 
which  he  was  to  receive  100  guineas,  500  acres  of  land,  and  three 
slaves.  The  story  was  originally  told  by  General  Henry  Lee 
himself.  I  was  informed  by  the  late  Edward  D.  Ingraham,  Esq., 
a  most  accomplished  historical  student  and  book-collector,  that  a 
Mr.  Beresford,  compositor  and  foreman  in  the  printing-house 
where  Lee's  volumes  were  struck  off,  had  told  him  that  the  mate 
rials  for  the  book  came  to  them  in  a  very  undigested  form  and 
that  they  were  put  into  their  public  shape  by  one  Lewis  P. 
Francks,  who  was  also  employed  in  the  office  :  in  confirmation  of 
which  Beresford  added  that  the  copy  was  kept  by  them  at  their 
discretion,  and  that  Francks  and  himself  had  still  possession  of 
many  of  its  original  letters  of  Washington,  &c.  As  Gen.  Lee 
was  in  duress  when  he  sent  his  memoirs  to  press,  this  anecdote 
seems  plausible  enough  ;  and  Mr.  Ingraham  was  inclined  to  be 
lieve  that  the  discrepancies  in  Lee's  account  might  thus  be  ac 
counted  for.  However,  all  attempts  were  fruitless  to  get  hold  of 
Arnold ;  though  he  led  daring  and  destructive  forays  to  Connecti 
cut  and  to  Virginia. 

It  was  at  Philadelphia,  where  Congress  sat  and  where  political 
antagonism  among  the  Whigs  ran  fiercest,  that  Arnold  was  most 
bitterly  condemned.  He  was  attainted  as  a  traitor,  and  his  effects 
forfeited  and  sold.  He  had  formerly  opposed  the  views  of  the 


452  APPENDIX. 

party  there  in  power:  the  state  government  had  brought  him 
before  a  court-martial ;  and  on  his  trial  he  had  imputed  to  Presi 
dent  Reed,  with  whom  he  was  on  most  angry  terms,  precisely  the 
same  intentions  of  defection  that  he  then  nursed  in  his  own 
bosom.  To  the  natural  expression  of  hatred  of  his  crime  was 
now  joined  too  open  an  opportunity  to  be  lost  of  hitting  his  for 
mer  friends  and  revenging  political  scores.  The  Packet,  the 
organ  of  the  dominant  section  of  Whigs,  was  loud  and  bitter  in 
its  indignation.  It  called  on  Congress  and  on  the  public  to  offer 
a  free  pardon  and  £100,000  to  any  one  that  would  deliver  him 
up  dead  or  alive.  This  it  urged  would  make  him  distrust  his 
companions,  and  "  at  least  send  Arnold  sooner  to  the  infernal 
regions."  As  we  can  hardly  believe  that  had  circumstances  put  it 
in  his  power,  Arnold  would  have  spared  these  his  mortal  foes,  it 
is  not  surprising  they  pursued  this  course.  When  he  marched 
through  Montreal  he  passed  a  stately  old  mansion,  with  a  stone- 
dog  and  bone  surmounting  the  door,  and  this  legend  that  may 
have  served  him  in  stead  in  his  hours  of  rage  : 

Je  suis  le  chien  qui  ronge  1'os, 
Sans  en  perdre  un  seul  morceau : 
Le  temps  viendra,  qui  n'est  pas  venu 
Je  mordrai  celui  qui  m'aura  mordu. 

Wounded  pride  and  the  prospect  of  revenge  had  doubtless 
much  to  do  with  his  behavior.  The  journal  went  on  however 
to  denounce  him,  and  to  call  attention  to  those  who  had  once  sup 
ported  him  :  and  his  wife's  share  in  his  guilt  was  suggested.  The 
state  government,  Sept.  27,  1780,  seized  his  and  her  papers. 
There  was  nothing  to  criminate  her ;  but  there  were  letters  found 
reflecting  harshly  on  the  French  Minister.  These  were  secured 
by  a  member  of  the  government  —  a  restless  zealot,  says  Mar- 
bois,  who  to  serve  his  own  party  scrupled  at  no  rigor  towards  its 
opponents  —  and  sent  to  the  ambassador  who  magnanimously 
thrust  them  unread  into  the  fire.  The  Packet  alleged  also  an  under 
standing  to  have  existed  between  Charles  Lee  and  Arnold  when 
the  first  came  back  from  captivity  to  Valley  Forge,  and  in  proof 
cited  from  a  Cork  newspaper  of  Jan.  14,  1779,  a  paragraph  inti 
mating  that  Lee  was  bribed  by  Clinton  to  annoy  him  as  little 
as  possible  in  the  march  by  Monmouth  and  through  Jersey.  It  is 
proper  here  to  correct  an  error  flagrantly  made  by  Marbois,  who 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  453 

had  every  opportunity  of  knowing  better,  and  repeated  by  Lord 
Mahon,  respecting  the  lenity  bestowed  on  Mrs.  Arnold.  She  re 
ceived  none  at  all,  unless  it  was  in  retraining  to  attaint  her  with 
out  any  forthcoming  evidence.  At  camp  indeed  she  was  believed 
innocent,  and  permitted  to  choose  her  destination.  She  came  to 
her  father  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  anxious  to  remain  with  him ; 
offering  security  to  write  no  letters  to  her  husband  during  the 
war  and  to  send  all  received  from  him  at  once  to  government. 
The  civil  authorities  refused  her  appeal,  and  enforced  their  order 
of  exile  during  the  war.  She  was  compelled  to  go  to  New  York, 
where  her  distressed  and  dejected  air  was  very  observable  for  a 
time.  When  her  spirits  however  were  restored  she  shone,  we  are 
told,  in  society  as  "  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,"  and  expectation 
even  in  London  was  excited  by  the  asseverations  of  Tarleton  and 
other  returning  officers  "  that  she  was  the  handsomest  woman  in 
England." 

On  his  own  arrival,  though  well  received  at  court  where  leaning 
on  Carleton's  arm  he  was  presented  by  Sir  Walter  Stirling,  and 
in  the  cabinet  where  he  was  consulted  by  Germain  and  regarded 
as  a  very  sensible  man,  Arnold  had  some  pretty  hard  raps  to  re 
ceive  from  the  Opposition.  In  the  Commons  Lord  Surrey  is 
said  to  have  sent  word  to  him  that  he  would  move  the  house  to 
be  cleared  unless  he  withdrew,  and  only  consented  to  his  remain 
ing  for  that  once'  because  he  was  introduced  by  a  member  and 
promised  never  to  come  again.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  some  of 
the  anecdotes,  pointed  or  pointless,  that  are  told  of  his  rebuffs. 
But  it  appears  that  he  was  once  hissed  at  a  playhouse :  and  that 
party  raillery  was  not  withheld  from  him.  Burke  and  Fox  pro 
tested  against  his  employment ;  and  it  was  rumored  that  the  king 
had  promised  not  to  confide  to  him  the  charge  of  British  troops. 
A  noble  satirist  in  1777  had  reproached  him  with  the  reports  of 
his  early  misdeeds  about  horses : 

One  Arnold  too  shall  feel  our  ire ; 
By  horses  torn,  let  him  expire 

Amidst  an  Indian  screech ! 
Nor  by  his  death  let  vengeance  cease, 
The  jockey's  ghost  can't  rest  in  peace, 

If  Burgoyne  forge  his  speech ! 

"  Mr.  Arnold,"  quoth  the  writer,  "  is  understood  to  have  been 
originally  a  dealer  in  horses,  and  to  have  had  his  conduct  sererely 


454  APPENDIX. 

criticised,  as  being  the  reverse  of  Saul,  in  respect  to  certain  strayed 
asses ;  for  instead  of  finding  them  before  they  were  lost,  he  was 
unable  to  recover  them  after.  (See  1st  Sam.  ix.  3.)"  The  same 
bard  now  again  made  him  his  theme. 


AN  ODE 

ADDRESSED  TO  GENERAL  ARNOLD. 

Welcome,  "  one  Arnold,"  to  our  shore! 
Thy  deeds  on  Fame's  strong  pinions  bore 

Spread  loyalty  and  reason : 
0  !  had  success  thy  projects  crown'd, 
Proud  Washington  had  bit  the  ground. 

And  Arnold  punish'd  treason. 

Around  you  press  the  sacred  band, 
Germain  will  kneel  to  kiss  your  hand. 

Galloway  his  plaudits  blend: 
Sir  Hugh  will  hug  you  to  his  heart; 
The  tear  of  joy  from  Twitcher  start; 

And  Cockburn  hail  his  friend. 

Since  you  the  royal  levees  grace, 

Joy  breaks  through  Denbigh's  dismal  face, 

Sir  Guy  looks  brisk,  and  capers ; 
Grave  Amherst  teems  with  brilliant  jests: 
The  refugees  are  Stonnont's  guests; 

His  wine's  a  cure  for  vapors. 

Mild  Abingdon  shouts  out  your  praise : 
Burgoyne  himself  will  tune  his  lavs, 

To  sing  your  skill  in  battle; 
Greater  than  Han's,  who  scal'd  the  Alps, 
Or  Indian  chief's,  who  brought  him  scalps 

Instead  of  Yankee  cattle. 

For  camp  or  cabinet  you're  made : 
A  Jockey's  half  a  courtier's  trade, 

And  you've  instinctive  art; 
Although  your  outside's  not  so  drest, 
Bid  Mansfield  dive  into  your  breast, 

And  then  report  your  heart. 

What  think  you  of  this  rapid  war? 
Perhaps  you'll  say  we've  march'd  too  far, 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  455 

And  spar'd  when  we  should  kill: 
Was  it  by  coursing  to  and  fro 
That  Sackville  beat  the  daring  foe 

Or  bravely  standing  still  ? 

Heroic  Sackville,  calm  and  meek  — 
Tho'  Ferdinando  smote  his  cheek, 

He  never  shook  his  spear ; 
(That  spear,  in  Gallic  blood  fresh  dyed;) 
But  like  Themistocles,  he  cryed, 

Frappez,  mon  prince! —  but  hear. 

As  yet  we've  met  with  trifling  crosses, 
And  prov'd  our  force  e'en  by  our  losses; 

(Conquest  or  death's  the  word:) 
Britons,  strike  home !    Be  this  your  boast, 
After  two  gallant  armies  lost, 

Sir  Henry  —  has  a  third. 

Worn  out  with  toils  and  great  designs, 
Germain  to  you  the  seals  resigns, 

Your  worth  superior  owns ; 
Would  rev' rend  Twitcher  now  retreat, 
We  still  might  keep  a  greater  fleet 

By  bribing  o'er  Paul  Jones. 

O'er  Twitcher's  breast,  and  Germain's  too, 
Fix  Edward's  star  and  ribbon  blue, 

To  ravish  all  beholders; 
That  when  to  heaven  they  get  a  call, 
Their  stars  (like  Eli's  cloak)  may  fall 

On  Paul's  and  Arnold's  shoulders. 

Carmarthen,  ope  your  sacred  gates, 
The  gen'rous,  valiant  Germain  waits, 

Who  held  the  Atlantic  steerage: 
(He'll  shine  a  jewel  in  the  crown) 
When  Arnold  knocks  all  traitors  down, 

He  too  shall  have  a  Peerage ! 

Should  faithless  Wedderburne.  decline 
To  rank  his  name,  Germain,  with  thine, 

This  truth  (unfee'd)  I'll  tell  you; 
Rise  a  Scotch  Peer  — right  weel  I  ween, 
You'll  soon  be  chose  —  one  of  sixteen  — 

Dare  Grafton  then  expel  you  ? 


456  APPENDIX. 

A  more  interesting  tirade,  insomuch  as  it  lots  in  more  light  on 
Arnold's  history,  was  made  by  a  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  a  Welshman, 
who  had  been  Secretary  to  the  Bill  of  Rights  Society.  Morris 
had  been  left  in  a  confidential  relation  by  Lord  Baltimore  to  his 
natural  daughter.  The  girl  had  property,  and  he  married  her 
while  she  was  yet  very  young.  In  two  years  she  separated  from 
him.  He  published  his  transactions  about  Arnold  in  a  pamphlet 
of  which  I  know  of  but  one  copy.  It  is  entitled  "  Morris,  Arnold 
and  Battersby.  Account  of  the  Attack  I  made  on  the  character 
of  General  Arnold,  and  the  dispute  which  ensued  between  me  and 
Captain  Battersby.  R.  Morrix.  London,  1782."  8vo.  pp.  32. 

The  fray  began  by  Morris  publishing,  Feb.  9,  1782,  a  letter  in 
the  General  Advertiser,  in  which  he  says  Arnold  had  been  trans 
ported  from  England  to  America  for  horse-stealing  and  was  thus 
exposed  in  both  countries  to  be  hanged.  But  he  should  not  be 
averse  to  the  rope,  since  he  left  Andre  to  be  hung,  to  spare  him 
self  the  risk  of  sending  him  back  as  he  came.  "  lie  sent  him  off 
to  run  every  hazard  by  himself,  secure  of  his  own  flight  in  case 
Andre  was  stopt."  The  bribe  was  all  he  wanted  :  "  i!80UO,  which 
he  was  sure  to  touch,  was  a  capital  sum  for  such  an  original  beg 
gar."  He  is  indignant  at  Arnold's  reception  at  Court.  "  AVhen 
Sir  H.  Clinton  was  trying  every  negotiation  and  manoeuvre  to 
save  his  Aid-de-Camp,  when  whole  battalions  were  turning  out  to 
make  an  offer  of  their  blood  in  one  desperate  attempt  to  rescue 
him  from  the  midst  of  the  American  Army,  this  inglorious  fellow, 
who  had  brought  him  into  and  left  him  in  all  this  scrape,  made  no 
offer  of  the  surrender  of  his  person  back  to  the  Americans,  which 
he  knew  was  a  sacrifice  that  would  at  once  be  accepted,  and  would 
be  a  sure  preservation  to  Major  Andre  from  his  impending  fate." 
He  concludes  with  the  wish  that  Arnold  would  resent  his  letter ; 
but  unfortunately,  liberal  as  he  is  of  assertion,  he  had  made  one 
here  that  did  not  serve  his  turn.  A  Captain  James  Battersby, 
of  the  29th  Foot,  who  had  sailed  from  Chatham,  Feb.  28,  1776, 
for  the  relief  of  Quebec,  and  was  captured  with  Burgoyne  and 
several  years  a  prisoner,  had  returned  to  England  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1781.  He  wrote  to  the  Morning  Herald  that  he  verily 
believed  Arnold  did  offer  to  surrender  himself.  Morris's  reply 
evaded  this  point,  and  generally  abused  Clinton  and  Arnold : 
on  which  Battersby  wrote  a  sharp  letter,  suggesting  that  he  had 
already  offered  to  fight  Morris  and  now  repeats  the  challenge : 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  457 

that  Arnold  will  not  notice  such  a  low  fellow  :  —  "  were  he  disposed 
to  resent  audacious  and  unprovoked  insolence,  there  are  a  few 
braying  asses  of  rank  whom  he  would  first  chastise  "  :  —  but  the 
captain  has  ordered  one  of  his  negro  drum-boys  to  chastise  his  an 
tagonist.  Morris  again  writes  in  general  invective  against  Arnold, 
and  follows  with  an  address  to  Battersby,  in  which  he  says  he  does 
not  believe  the  story  of  Arnold's  offer  of  surrender,  because  he 
never  heard  it  from  any  one  else  :  and  that  if  it  were  true,  Ar 
nold  should  have  gone  off  without  Clinton's  knowledge. 

Morris  now  strove  to  get  a  meeting  from  Arnold  while  a  friend 
looked  after  Battersby.  "  Captain  Battersby,"  he  gently  observes, 
"  I  should  have  no  objection  to  see  killed  by  any  other  hand  in 
stead  of  my  own,  while  there  was  any  chance  of  General  Arnold 
giving  me  the  meeting."  Volunteers  came  to  his  aid  against  Anti- 
Yankey  (Captain  Battersby) :  "  I  am  your  man,"  writes  Mr. 
Thomas  Hailing,  "  against  Anti-Yankey,  or  any  other  rascally 
refugee  whatsoever. 

I'll  fight  him, 

I'll  beat  him, 

I'll  roast  him, 

I'll  eat  him!" 

At  last,  a  duel  was  arranged.  Major  Stanhope  (Lord  Harring 
ton's  brother)  was  the  captain's  second ;  but  being  prevented  from 
acting,  Governor  Skeene  took  his  place.  Captain  Bailie  acted  for 
Morris.  A  reconciliation  however  intervened  and  the  dispute  was 
accommodated  :  and  since  Arnold's  courage  at  least  was  unques 
tionable,  we  must  suppose  there  was  some  other  reason  for  his  not 
meeting  his  assailer.  In  truth  Morris's  publication  was  in  very 
bad  taste.  He  says  Burgoyne  remarked  of  the  dispute  between 
himself  and  Battersby  and  its  occasion  :  "  that  it  was  just  like  two 
gentlemen  quarreling  for  a  common  ." 

More  valuable  by  far,  though  not  of  less  singular  rarity,  is  the 
Remarks  on  the  Travels  of  M.  de  Chastellux:  London,  Wilkie, 
1787:  8vo.  pp.  ii.  80;  —  an  anonymous  work  which  I  am  more 
and  more  convinced  was  written  or  directed  by  Arnold's  own 
hand.  The  translator  of  Chastellux  had  printed  matters  in  his 
Notes  peculiarly  offensive  to  Arnold  and  of  such  a  nature  that  the 
author  would  never  have  admitted  many  of  them  into  his  own 
pages,  severe  though  they  be  in  their  reflections  on  the  English 
and  their  recent  acquisition.  All  that  is  said,  however,  by  the 


458  APPENDIX. 

writer  of  the  Remarks  in  relation  to  the  business  of  West  Point  is 
rather  in  vindication  of  Arnold's  conduct  than  in  explanation  of 
its  details. 

"  From  the  Translator  we  gather,  that  general  Arnold  received 
seven  thousand  pounds  in  the  funds  ;  and  from  the  Author,  that 
he  was  to  deliver  up  West  Point.  The  death  of  major  Andre  is 
universally  known;  and  the  rank  that  he  bore  of  adjutant-general 
in  the  British  army.  From  these  inferences,  admitting  their  truth, 
what  deductions  can  we  draw  ?  Could  Arnold  alone  give  up  West 
Point?  Would  an  adjutant-general  have  visited  him  for  what  he 
alone  could  have  accomplished  ?  Would  he  have  been  hazarded  for 
the  completion  of  so  small  an  object  ?  Is  there  nothing  in  Arnold's 
asseverations  V  Gave  he  no  reasons  for  his  conduct  ?  He  did. 
Much  of  this  extraordinary  event  will  doubtless  be  ever  concealed; 
and  probably  little  more  than  what  has  already  transpired  will  be 
known  to  the  present  generation.  Arnold's  assertions,  that  Amer 
ica  in  general  was  satisfied  with  the  offers  of  the  British  nation, 
that  it  was  averse  to  the  French,  and  the  continuation  of  the  war, 
were  true.  It  has  been  before  observed,  that  Washington  asserted, 
that  he  would  never  agree  to  independency  ;  and  though  the  Con 
gress  decreed  that  all  their  votes  should  be  styled  unanimous,  it  is 
well  known  that  more  than  once  a  single  voice  or  two  has  decided 
upon  their  most  important  resolutions.  To  a  certain  length  Gal 
loway  acceded  to  the  American  cause,  and  in  England,  people  at 
different  periods  desisted  from  their  support  of  America  as  she 
receded  from  her  connections  with  this  country  ;  this  did  the  great 
and  wise  earl  of  Chatham,  the  first  statesman  of  the  age. 

"  The  argument  is  not  whether  this  change  of  sentiment  pro 
ceeded  from  patriotic  principles,  or  sinister  passions;  it  is  the  fact 
that  I  insist  on.  In  our  own  civil  wars,  Hyde  and  Essex,  Falkland 
and  Whitlock,  and  many  others,  furnished  the  precedent;  and  this 
conduct  must  arise  from  the  nature  of  man,  imperfect  in  himself, 
his  judgments,  and  opinions;  and  actuated  from  events  and  effects 
originating  from  so  imperfect  a  source.  Was  it  not  so,  how  could 
a  war  ever  be  terminated  V  A  brave,  but  a  divided  people,  under 
the  influence  of  conscience,  and  a  firm  belief  of  the  justice  of 
their  cause,  would  fight  to  their  mutual  destruction,  '  and  darkness 
be  the  burier  of  the  dead/  History,  when  it  points  out  to  us  the 
calamities  of  civil  wars,  uniformly  delineates  their  termination,  not 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  459 

so  much  in  the  destruction  of  mankind,  as  in  their  change  of 
opinion.  Had  Lambert  escaped  from  his  pursuers,  and  the  army 
revolted  from  Monk,  what  would  have  been  Monk's  fate  ?  And  in 
what  light  would  posterity  consider  his  memory  ?  A  republican, 
and  therefore  unconstitutional  party,  at  present  detract  from  his 
reputation,  but  he  is  venerated  by  Englishmen  in  general,  as  the 
restorer  of  the  peace  of  his  country.  That  general  has  been  blamed 
for  permitting  the  restoration  of  the  king  without  compact :  the 
time  necessary  for  making  such  a  free,  general,  and  English  com 
pact,  would  have  ruined  his  measures ;  secrecy  alone  could  give 
success  to  his  arduous  undertaking.  He  trusted,  and  he  trusted 
justly,  that  the  spirit  of  the  times  would  secure  the  liberty  of  the  sub 
ject,  against  which  it  was  visible  the  crown  must  contend  in  vain. 
Clarendon  had  wisdom  sufficient  to  distinguish  the  momentary  ac 
clamations  of  all  ranks  of  people,  happy  in  the  termination  of 
their  individual  miseries,  from  the  sober  and  collective  voice  of 
their  judgment.  If  the  house  of  Stuart,  on  the  removal  of  that 
great  man,  forgot  their  own  interests,  and  ungratefully  invaded  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  it  certainly  was  contrary  to  the  calculations 
of  reason,  and  they  lost  the  crown  in  consequence;  the  spirit  of 
the  people,  as  one  man,  rose  up  against  them,  and  let  it  be  re 
membered,  the  Revolution  was  effected  without  bloodshed.  Had 
Arnold,  and  those  who  thought  with  him,  given  a  severe  blow,  and 
without  bloodshed,  to  Washington's  army ;  had  he  broke  the  civil 
chains  of  the  people,  and  restored  the  sword  to  their  hands,  had 
they  accepted  the  more  than  independency  which  was  offered  to 
America  by  Great  Britain ;  and  had  the  empire  by  these  means 
been  restored  to  union,  who  would  have  enjoyed  the  blessings  of 
this  age,  and  been  the  favourite  of  posterity,  the  active,  enterpris 
ing  American  Arnold,  or  the  cool,  designing,  frenchified  Washing 
ton  ?  These  terms  are  derived  from  the  Marquis's  Memoirs ;  his 
opinions,  and  the  rejoicings  of  the  Americans  upon  the  failure  of 
Arnold's  attempt,  establish  its  magnitude." 

In  other  places,  the  Remarks  give  some  information  of  affairs 
that  would  be  valuable  according  to  our  absolute  certainty  of  the 
communicator.  Of  the  American  army  he  says  that  it  was  made 
up  of  all  nations,  and  only  kept  efficient  by  the  severest  discipline 
and  the  cooperation  of  the  civil  authorities,  which  punished 
severely  all  who  did  not  profess  devotion  to  America.  The 


460  APPENDIX. 

militia  spread  around  the  camp  at  least  served  to  intercept  desert 
ers  and  prevent  marauds.  Many  of  the  generals  are  roughly 
handled ;  La  Fayette,  Sullivan,  Stirling,  and  Greene  among  the 
number.  Wayne  has  some  praise  ;  "  if  he  should  ever  read  my 
account  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  he  will  enjoy  it,  and  say 
it  is  true."  Lee,  Mifflin,  and  Gates  are  spoken  of  more  kindly. 
Reed  is  spoken  of  with  severity ;  and  what  are  alleged  to  be  par 
ticular  facts  in  connection  with  the  imputed  defection  that  Arnold 
on  his  trial  brought  up  against  him  are  recited.  Of  Washington 
the  writer  observes  :  —  "I  have  no  resentment  to  that  general ; 
his  virtues  and  his  vices  are  now  out  of  the  question  ;  and  whether 
he  continues  a  land-jobber  in  Virginia,  or  the  president  of  Con 
gress,  is  totally  indifferent.  The  exposition  of  truth  is  all  my 
design.  Success  animates  a  mercenary  army  ;  Mr.  Washington 
had  no  hold  on  this  chain  of  union.  The  capture  of  Lord 
Cornvvallis's  army  was  the  effect  of  joint  operation  and  French 
artillery.  The  surprise  of  Washington  at  Brandywine  and  de 
feat  at  Germantown,  have  not  added  to  his  reputation  ;  and  the 
terming  his  repulse  at  Monmouth  a  defeat  of  the  British  army, 
proved,  that  having  assumed  French  politics,  he  was  intoxicated 
with  their  manners.  The  Congress  called  it  a  victory,  the  army 
knew  the  term  to  be  a  '  dishonourable  gasL-onade.' " 

Arnold's  affairs  could  not  have  been  bad  in  England,  but  they 
were  not  good  to  his  wish.  In  the  spring  of  1785,  he  was  so  dis 
appointed  at  not  getting  a  hearing  before  the  Board  on  Loyalist 
Claims  that  he  resolved  to  withdraw  his  suit  and  retire  into  the 
country.  Later  in  the  year,  he  proposed  going  into  trade  again. 
"  General  Arnold  is  gone  out  to  America  too,"  wrote  Adams  to 
Jay.  "  From  this,  some  persons  have  conjectured  that  war  is  de 
termined  on,  or  at  least  thought  not  improbable.  He  went  to 
Halifax  in  a  vessel  of  his  own,  with  a  cargo  of  his  own,  upon  a 
trading  voyage,  as  is  given  out.  This  I  can  scarcely  believe.  It 
would  hardly  be  permitted  a  general  officer  to  go  upon  such  a 
trade.  He  said  himself  he  had  a  young  family  to  provide  for,  and 
could  not  bear  an  idle  life.  This  is  likely  enough.  I  rather  think 
then,  that  he  has  obtained  leave  to  go  out  and  purchase  himself  a 
settlement  in  Nova  Scotia  or  Canada,  that  he  may  be  out  of  the 
way  of  feeling  the  neglect  and  contempt  in  which  he  is  held  by 
not  only  the  army,  but  the  world  in  general." 

The  same  military  spirit,  the  same  intolerance  of  inactive  subor- 


THE  CAPTORS.  461 

dination  that  marked  his  character  in  our  service  followed  Arnold 
into  that  of  the  British.  Great  as  were  his  crimes,  he  can  neither 
be  accused  of  a  lack  of  personal  intrepidity,  nor  of  a  cringing 
subservience  that  prized  slothful  prosperity  above  the  hazards  of 
the  field.  In  1 780  an  English  writer,  commenting  on  his  gen 
eral's  neglecting  or  refusing  to  disturb  our  military  arrangements, 
uses  these  words :  — "  General  Arnold,  in  beseeching  Clinton  to 
march  out  and  attack  Washington  and  Rochambeau,  and  on  his 
refusal  offering  to  do  it  himself  with  6000  or  even  5000  men, 
must  have  ruined  himself  completely  with  Sir  Henry.  It  would 
be  much  better  now  for  General  Arnold  to  be  in  London  than  at 
New  York."  It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  his  defection 
encountered  from  many  quarters  as  severe  censure  in  England  as 
it  had  received  in  America.  To  the  samples  of  this  opinion  al 
ready  cited  I  will  add  but  one  other,  which  is  curious  as  showing 
how  Andre  was  by  some  still  styled  St.  Andre. 

ARNOLD:  OR,  A  QUESTION  ANSWERED, 

Our  troops  by  Arnold  thoroughly  were  bang'd, 
And  poor  St.  Andre1  was  by  Arnold  hang'd; 
To  George  a  rebel,  to  the  Congress  traitor, 
Pray  what  can  make  the  name  of  Arnold  greater? 
By  one  bold  treason,  more  to  gain  his  ends, 
Let  him  betray  his  new  adopted  friends ! 


No.  II. 

THE  CAPTORS. 

THERE  has  been  for  some  years  a  controversy  about  the  char 
acter  and  motives  of  the  men  who  arrested  Andre.  On  the  one 
hand  is  the  contemporaneous  eulogy  bestowed  on  their  conduct  by 
Washington,  and  the  sense  in  which  it  has  generally  been  re 
garded  by  the  public.  New  York  gave  each  of  them  a  farm. 
Congress  ordered  silver  medals  inscribed  Fidelity  and  Vincit 
Amor  Patrice  to  be  made  for  Paulding,  Williams,  and  Van  Wart ; 
and  also  voted  each  a  yearly  pension  of  two  hundred  silver  dol 
lars  for  life.  On  the  other  is  the  assertion  of  several  weighty 


462  APPENDIX. 

evidences  that  they  were  marauders,  whose  object  was  simply 
spoil. 

On  the  13th  January,  1817,  Paulding's  petition  for  an  increased 
pension  was  debated  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Tall- 
madge  opposed  the  prayer  earnestly,  going  with  minuteness  into 
the  details  of  the  event  from  which  it  arose.  He  said  the  captors 
only  brought  their  prisoner  in  because  they  thought  they  would  get 
more  for  his  surrender  than  for  his  release :  that  he  fully  believed 
in  Andre's  assertions  that  their  object  was  to  rob  him,  and  that  they 
would  have  let  him  go  if  he  could  have  satisfied  their  demands. 
They  took  off  his  boots  in  quest  of  plunder,  not  to  detect  treason  ; 
and  were,  he  said,  men  of  that  suspicious  class  who  passing  be 
tween  both  armies  were  as  often  in  one  camp  as  the  other  ;  and 
whom  he  himself  should  probably  have  apprehended,  as  was  al 
ways  his  custom,  had  he  fallen  on  them.  His  wishes  prevailed 
with  the  House,  and  the  petition  was  rejected  by  a  large  majority : 
but  out  of  doors  his  language  was  strongly  criticised  and  his  conduct 
condemned.  Van  Wart  and  Paulding  came  forth  with  affidavits 
declaring  the  imputations  untrue  :  and  a  sort  of  autobiography  of 
Williams  confirms  the  statement  that  it  was  no  idea  of  the  captors 
to  negotiate  with  their  prisoner.  Van  Wart  swears  he  had  not,  nor 
did  he  believe  his  comrades  had,  any  intent  of  plundering  Andre ; 
while  Paulding  alleges  they  took  everything  he  had.  The  testi 
mony  on  Smith's  trial  in  1780  shows  that  the  proposal  of  releasing 
Andre  for  money  first  came  from  Williams  and  was  put  a  stop  to 
by  Paulding:  but  Ave  may  suppose  the  former  to  have  been  insin 
cere  in  his  proffer,  though  it  was  promptly  accepted  by  the  captive. 

In  support  of  Tallmadge's  view,  King,  who  had  the  earliest 
charge  of  Andre,  suggests  that  the  time  and  place  where  the  ar 
rest  occurred  made  the  character  of  the  captors  questionable. 
"  The  truth  is,  to  the  impudence  of  the  men,  and  not  to  the  pa 
triotism  of  any  one  of  them,  is  to  be  attributed  the  capture  of 
Major  Andre."  Major  Shaw  too,  Washington's  aide,  who  was 
present  in  all  the  proceedings  attendant  on  the  discovery  of  the 
treason,  calls  them  "  militia,  or  rather  a  species  of  freebooters  who 
live  by  the  plunder  they  pick  up  between  the  lines."  A  distin 
guished  P^nglish  friend,  whose  father  served  at  the  time  with  Clin 
ton,  has  favored  me  with  what  we  may  suppose  was  the  opinion 
derived  at  New  York  from  Andre's  letters,  —  "  I  must  frankly  say 
that  my  father  has  repeatedly  told  me  he  was  taken  by  some 


THE  CAPTORS.  463 

marauders  lying,  as  was  commonly  the  case,  on  the  neutral  ground 
for  pillage.  That  they  told  him  if  he  could  make  good  his  offers 
anywhere  without  going  within  the  lines  they  would  free  him  — 
but  on  recent  occasions  young  officers  had  made  promises  and 
had  handed  the  delinquents  over  to  the  Provost-Marshal  on  arriv 
ing.  This,  and  the  magnitude  of  his  offers,  led  them  to  decide 
on  turning  north  in  lieu  of  south  :  —  nothing  else."  Thus  it  is  es 
tablished  that  what  the  captors  deny  was  maintained  by  Andre 
himself  and  by  well-informed  officers  of  our  army.  Now  the  rep 
utation  of  Taihnadge,  King,  and  Shaw  is  just  as  good  in  our  eyes 
as  that  of  Paulding,  Van  Wart,  and  Williams  :  and  it  certainly 
•was  a  great  deal  better  in  their  own  day.  The  only  reason  why 
their  declarations  do  not  weigh  down  the  others  is  that  they  were 
not  eye-witnesses  of  the  scene.  It  is  fair  therefore  to  look  further 
into  the  antecedents  of  the  Captors. 

John  Paulding  their  leader  was  a  lusty  youth,  six  feet  high  and 
just  turned  of  manhood,  and  of  active  spirit.  Twice  had  he  al 
ready  been  taken  to  New  York  a  prisoner,  and  each  time  escaped. 
He  returned  from  his  second  captivity  but  four  days  before  he 
stopped  Andre.  His  grandfather  Joseph  Paulding  was  a  tenant 
of  the  great  landholder  Philipse  'at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and 
professing  neutrality  was  not  disturbed.  His  sons  however  are 
represented  as  whigs  ;  though  I  take  it  that  Joseph,  the  captor's 
father,  was  one  of  those  who,  April  11,  1775,  protested  their  abhor 
rence  of  Congress  and  their  devotion  to  "King  and  Constitution." 
The  old  man  died  :  the  farm  was  pillaged :  the  young  men  had 
nothing  to  do  ;  and  on  Paulding's  second  escape  in  the  dress  of 
a  German  Yager  that  he  got  in  New  York,  he  joined  this  party 
to  waylay  the  road  and  intercept  the  returning  Cowboys.  The 
act  of  legislature  of  24th  June,  1780,  made  it  lawful  for  any  man 
to  seize  for  his  own  use  cattle  going  to  the  enemy  :  under  this  it  is 
said  they  were  sanctioned  in  their  purpose.  Whatever  this  plea 
may  be  worth,  and -even  admitting  a  certain  undisciplined  wild- 
ness  of  youth,  it  seems  from  his  own  statements  that  Paulding 
was  in  his  propensities  decidedly  a  whig. 

Isaac  Van  Wart  in  his  old  days  most  solemnly  protested  that 
he  never  held  unlawful  intercourse  with  the  enemy  or  visited  their 
camp.  In  opposition  to  this  is  the  assertion  of  one  of  the  tory 
Pines  of  Pine's  Bridge  that  he  knew  Van  Wart  was  a  British 
militia-man,  for  he  "  had  been  told  so  by  Van  Wart  himself." 


464  APPENDIX. 

There  is  also  an  ominous  complaint  preserved  in  Ohio  among  the 
family  papers  of  General  Putnam.  "  Mrs.  Hannah  Sniffen  says 
that  Gabriel,  Joseph,  and  Abraham  Riquard,  David  Hunt,  Isaac 
Van  Wart,  and  Pardon  Burlingham,  did,  on  the  night  of  the  27th 
ult,  take  from  Mr.  James  Sniffen,  an  inhabitant  of  White  Plains, 
without  civil  or  military  authority,  three  milch  cows,  which  they 
have  converted  to  their  own  private  use.  Crom  Pond,  July  9th, 
1780.  Hannah  Sniffen,  in  behalf  of  her  father  " 

David  Williams  tells  us  himself  all  we  know  of  him :  he  served 
for  six  months  with  Montgomery  at  St.  John's,  and  was  till  1779  in 
the  militia  of  Westchester  county.  He  narrates  the  marauds  he 
shared  in  while  in  this  service.  In  the  summer  of  1780  being  out 
of  employ,  he  and  his  friends  "  worked  for  their  board  on  Johnny- 
cake  " ;  and  occasionally  took  their  guns  and  went  on  the  road. 
Van  Wart  was  his  cousin :  and  twice  in  the  summer  they  made 
seizures  of  people  and  cattle.  The  American  civil  authorities  in 
terfered  in  both  instances  and  compelled  restitution.  Then  came 
the  adventure  with  Andre.  A  monument  on  the  spot  commemo 
rates  this  last  event :  nor  are  honorable  memorials  wanting  to  the 
several  graves  of  the  three  captors. 

Mr.  Headley  thinks  Paulding  alone  was  free  from  the  charge  of 
seeking  to  bargain  with  their  prisoner.  The  public  at  large  be 
lieve  them  pure  alike,  and  honorable.  I  cannot  for  my  own 
part  but  confess  that  there  was  at  least  colorable  ground  for  the 
conclusion  of  Tallmadge ;  but  the  encouragement  of  Washington 
and  Congress  and  their  own  solemn  affidavits  are  two  serious  ob 
stacles  to  an  implicit  faith  in  its  truth. 


No.  III. 

VERSES  CONNECTED  WITH  ANDRE'S  EXECUTION. 

WHETHER  or  not  Andre  composed  a  sort  of  farewell  song  be 
fore  he  died,  it  is  certain  he  has  had  the  reputation  of  doing  so. 
The  doughty  Sergeant  Lamb  of  the  Fusilecrs,  in  his  Journal  of 
the  American  War  (p.  338),  gives  a  hymn  of  nine  verses  as  hav- 


VERSES  CONNECTED  WITH  ANDREWS  EXECUTION.      465 

ing  been  written  by  Andre  in  his  confinement.  The  opening 
stanza  will  I  fancy  be  sufficient : 

Hail,  sovereign  love,  which  first  began 

The  scheme  to  rescue  fallen  man ! 

Hail  matchless,  free,  eternal  grace 

Which  gave  my  soul  a  hiding  place ! 

The  philosopher  of  the  kitchen,  the  accomplished  Brillat-Savarin, 
evidently  did  not  refer  to  this  piece  in  his  Physiologie  du  Gout. 
In  October,  1794,  he  visited  his  friend  Mr.  Bulow,  a  revolutionary 
officer  at  Hartford,  Connecticut;  and  was  overjoyed  at  killing 
"  une  dinde  sauvage."  After  the  toils  of  the  chase  were  ended, 
says  he  :  — "  Pour  reposer  la  conversation,  M.  Bulow  disait  de 
temps  a  autre  k  sa  fille  ainee  :  '  Mariah !  give  us  a  song.'  Et 
elle  nous  chanta  sans  se  faire  prier,  et  avec  un  embarras  charmant, 
la  chanson  nationale  Yankee  dudde,  la  complainte  de  la  reine 
Marie  et  celle  du  major  Andre,  qui  sont  tout  k  fait  populaires  en 
ce  pays."  The  words  and  music  of  these  last  two  pieces  are  given 
in  The  American  Musical  Miscellany:  Northampton,  1798.  I 
find  Andre's  Lament  also  in  a  large  collection  of  broadsides,  made 
by  the  late  Isaiah  Thomas  of  Worcester  and  preserved  in  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society.  It  is  entitled  —  "  Major  Andre  : 
written  while  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  American  camp  ; "  and  was 
"  printed  by  Nathaniel  Coverly,  Jr.,  Milk-street,  corner  Theatre- 
Alley,  Boston."  A  very  rude  and  unmeaning  woodcut  adorns  or 
disfigures  the  head  of  the  sheet :  and  the  lines  are  given  here  less 
as  Andre's  own  than  as  a  matter  of  curiosity. 

Ah,  Delia!  see  the  fatal  hour !  farewell,  my  soul's  delight, 
But  how  can  wretched  Damon  live,  thus  banish'd  from  thy  sight? 
To  my  fond  heart  no  rival  joy  supplies  the  loss  of  thee; 
But  who  can  tell  if  thou,  my  dear,  will  e'er  remember  me? 

Yet  while  my  restless,  wand'ring  tho'ts  pursue  their  lost  repose, 
Unwearied  may  they  trace  the  path  where'er  my  Delia  goes ; 
Forever  Damon  shall  be  there  attendant  still  on  thee. 
But  who  can  tell  $c. 

Alone,  thro'  unfrequented  wilds,  with  pensive  steps  I  rove, 
I  ask  the  rocks,  I  ask  the  trees,  where  dwells  my  distant  love  ? 
The  silent  eve,  the  rosy  morn,  my  constant  searches  see. 
But  who  can  tell  $c. 

Oft  I'll  review  the  smiling  scenes,  each  fav'rite  brook  and  tree, 
Where  gaily  pass'd  those  happy  hours,  those  hours  I  pass'd  with  thee. 
30 


466  APPENDIX. 

What  painful,  fond  memorials  rise  from  every  place  I  see ! 
Ah !  who  can  tell  cfc. 

How  many  rival  votaries  soon  their  soft  address  shall  move ; 
Surround  thee  in  thy  new  abode,  and  tempt  thy  soul  to  Love : 
Ah,  who  can  tell  what  sighing  crowds  their  tender  homage  pay ; 
Ah,  who  can  tell  <fc. 

Think,  Delia,  with  how  deep  a  wound  the  sweetly  painful  dart, 
Which  thy  remembrance  leaves  behind  has  pierc'd  a  hopeless  heart: 
Think  on  this  fatal,  sad  adieu,  which  severs  me  from  thee : 
Ah !  who  can  tell  cf-c. 

How  can  I  speak  the  last  farewell ;  what  cares  distress  my  mind ; 
How  can  I  go  to  realms  of  bliss  and  leave  my  love  behind ! 
When  Angels  wing  me  to  the  skies  I'd  fain  return  to  thee: 
But  who  can  tell  cf  c. 

The  concluding  verse  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  version  of  the 
Repertory. 

What  Andre  may  have  neglected  himself,  other  hands  supplied. 
The  Literary  Miscellany  (Stourport:  J.  Nicholson;  1812),  vol. 
vii.,  declares  the  lines  to  Delia  beginning  "  Return,  enraptured 
hours  "  were  composed  in  his  imprisonment.  Others  formed  his 
praises  into  a  Glee,  wherewith  to  compose  the  souls  of  aldermen 
at  corporation  feasts. 

A  4  VOC.  PAXTON.* 

Eound  the  hapless  Andre's  urn 

Be  the  cypress  foliage  spread ; 
Fragrant  spice  profusely  burn, 

Honours  grateful  to  the  dead : 
Let  a  soldier's  manly  form 

Guard  the  vase  his  ashes  bears; 
Truth,  in  living  sorrow  warm, 

Pay  a  mourning  nation's  tears. 
Fame,  his  praise  upon  thy  wing, 

Through  the  world  dispersing  tell ; 
In  the  service  of  his  King, 

In  his  Country's  cause  he  fell ! 

But  it  was  his  friend  Miss  Seward  who  at  greatest  length  and 
•with  most  applause  brought  Poetry  to  lament  Andre's  fate.  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  this  lady  was  au  courant  as  to  the  army 
in  America ;  and  I  have  heard  that  from  her  Scott  got  the  premises 

*  Hobler's  Glees,  as  sung  at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern :  London, 
1794. 


VERSES   CONNECTED  WITH  ANDRE'S  EXECUTION.      467 

of  The  Tapestried  Chamber.  She  had  for  several  years  been  ac 
customed  to  pour  forth  her  verses  among  a  party  of  poets  of 
quality  who  thus  amused  themselves  under  the  auspices  of  Lady 
Miller,  and  whose  bantlings  were  printed  in  four  volumes  in  1781 
as  Poetical  Amusements  at  a  Villa  near  Bath.  Wai  pole  so  in 
imitably  describes  the  whole  assembly  that  we  will  trespass  a  little 
to  give  their  account  in  his  own  words  :  —  "  You  must  know,  Madam 
that  near  Bath  is  erected  a  new  Parnassus,  composed  of  three 
laurels,  a  myrtle-tree,  a  weeping-willow,  and  a  view  of  the  Avon, 
which  has  been  new-christened  Helicon.  Ten  years  ago  there 
lived  a  Madam  Riggs,  an  old  rough  humourist  who  passed  for  a 
wit ;  her  daughter,  who  passed  for  nothing,  married  to  a  Captain 
Miller,  full  of  good-natured  officiousness.  These  good  folks  were 
friends  of  Miss  Rich,  who  carried  me  to  dine  with  them  at  Batheas- 
ton,  now  Pindus.  They  caught  a  little  of  what  was  then  called 
taste,  built  and  planted,  and  begot  children,  till  the  whole  caravan 
were  forced  to  go  abroad  to  retrieve.  Alas!  Mrs.  Miller  is  re 
turned  a  beauty,  a  genius,  a  Sappho,  a  tenth  Muse,  as  romantic  as 
Mademoiselle  Scuderi,  and  as  unsophisticated  as  Mrs.  Vesey.  The 
Captain's  fingers  are  loaded  with  cameos,  his  tongue  runs  over 
with  virtu,  and  that  both  may  contribute  to  the  improvement  of 
their  own  country,  they  have  introduced  bouts-rime's  as  a  new  dis 
covery.  They  hold  a  Parnassus-fair  every  Thursday,  give  out 
rhymes  and  themes,  and  all  the  flux  of  quality  at  Bath  con 
tend  for  the  prizes.  A  Roman  vase  dressed  with  pink  ribbons 
and  myrtles  receives  the  poetry,  which  is  drawn  out  every  festival ; 
six  judges  of  these  Olympic  games  retire  and  select  the  brightest 
compositions,  which  the  respective  successful  acknowledge,  kneel 
to  Mrs.  Calliope  Miller,  kiss  her  fair  hand,  and  are  crowned  by  it 

with  myrtle,  with 1  don't  know  what.     You  may  think  this  is 

fiction,  or  exaggeration.  Be  dumb,  unbelievers !  The  collection 
is  printed,  published.  —  Yes,  on  my  faith,  there  are  bouts-rimes  on 
a  buttered  muffin,  made  by  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of  Northum 
berland  ;  receipts  to  make  them  by  Corydon  the  venerable,  alias 
George  Pitt ;  others  very  pretty  by  Lord  Palmerston  ;  some  by 
Lord  Carlisle ;  many  by  Mrs.  Miller  herself,  that  have  no  fault 
but  wanting  metre  ;  and  immortality  promised  to  her  without  end 
or  measure.  In  short,  since  folly  which  never  ripens  to  madness 
but  in  this  hot  climate,  ran  distracted,  there  never  was  anything 
so  entertaining  or  so  dull  —  for  you  cannot  read  so  long  as  I  have 
been  telling." 


468  APPENDIX. 

Under  such  friendly  auspices  Miss  Seward  wrote  her  Monody 
on  Andre,  a  poem  of  considerable  merit,  which  has  possessed 
greater  popularity  than  any  other  of  her  writings  and  has  gone 
through  numerous  editions.  Its  objurgations  of  Washington  were 
regarded  as  just  censure  by  many  of  her  admirers,  who  considered 
his  reputation  snuffed  out  like  a  candle  by  Miss  Se ward's  elo 
quence  : 

Thy  pen,  more  potent  than  Ithuriel's  spear 
Strips  from  the  ruthless  Chief  his  corselet's  pride, 
And  shews  his  heart  of  Nero's  colour  dy'd. 

And  indeed  she  herself  esteemed  it  highly.  To  commemorate 
the  death  of  Lady  Miller,  she  invokes  the  same  Muse  that  had 
then  befriended  her  :  — 

Ye,  who  essay'd  to  weave  the  golden  thread, 
And  gem  with  flow'rs  the  woof  of  high  applause 
The  pious  veil  o'er  shroudless  Andre  spread, 
O'er  Andre,  murder' d  in  his  country's  cause. 

That  his  memory  might  rest  in  literature  like  Garrick  in  the 
picture  between  the  Tragic  and  the  Comic  Muse,  James  Smith 
has  added  his  mite  to  Miss  Seward's  labors,  in  a  pretended  vol 
ume  of  letters  from  America  called  Milk  and  Honey,  or  the  Land 
of  Promise :  Letter  vii. ;  Mr.  Richard  Barrow  to  Mr.  Robert 
Briggs. 

—  Bob,  Jonathan's  queer ;  he  is  mizzled  a  ration, 
He  does  not  half-stomach  a  late  exhumation ; 
Some  culls,  here,  have  taken  to  grubbing  the  clay 
That  tucks  up  the  body  of  Major  Andre*. 
With  yon  resurrectionists,  that  is  not  very 
Unusual,  who  dig  up  as  fast  as  you  bury, 
And  charge  iron  coffins  the  devil's  own  fee  — 
(Lord  Stowel  there  buried  the  poor  patentee,) 
But  here,  Bob,  the  gabies  have  not  come  to  that. 
Would  you  fancy  it?     Jonathan's  yet  such  aflat 
As  to  think,  when  a  corpse  has  been  waked  by  a  train 
Of  mourners,  'tis  wicked  to  wake  it  again. 

Methinks  you're  for  asking  me  who  Andre"  was  ? 
(Book-learning  and  you,  Bob,  ain't  cronies,  that's  pos.) 
I'll  tell  you,  Andre,  urged  by  arguments  weighty, 
Went  out  to  New  York  Anno  Domini  '80. 
He  quitted  the  land  of  bis  fathers  to  bleed 
In  war,  all  along  of  his  love  for  Miss  Sneyd ; 


COLONEL  TALLMADGE  TO  GENERAL  HEATH.   469 

But,  finding  his  name  not  enroll'd  in  a  high  line 

Of  rank  for  promotion,  he  took  to  the  Sj>y-line. 

He  sew'd  in  his  stocking  a  letter  from  Arnold: 

A  sentinel  nabbed  it  —  why  didn't  the  darn  hold? 

Or  why,  when  he  stitch' d  it  up,  didn't  he  put 

The  letter  between  his  sole-leather  and  foot? 

By  mashing  it,  then,  he  had  'scap'd  all  disaster, 

As  Pipes  mash'd  the  letter  of  Pickle,  his  master. 

"Within  the  lines  taken,  a  prisoner  brought  off, 

They  troubled  him  with  a  line  more  than  he  thought  of ; 

For,  finding  the  young  man's  despatches  not  trim, 

To  shorten  my  story,  Bob,  they  despatch' d  him. 

He  long  might  have  slept  with  the  ci-devant  crew, 

As  soundly  as  here  other  buried  men  do ; 

But  fashion,  as  somebody  says  on  the  stage, 

In  words  and  in  periwigs  will  have  her  rage. 

The  notion  of  bringing  dead  people  away 

Began  upon  Paine,  and  went  on  to  Andre"; 

The  Yankees  thought  Cobbett  was  digging  for  dibs, 

But  when  out  he  trundled  a  thighbone  and  ribs, 

They  did  not  half-like  it;  and  cried  with  a  groan, 

"  Since  poor  Tom's  a-cold,  why  not  leave  him  alone?  " 

American  writers  have  also  made  the  story  their  fictitious  theme. 
The  tragedy  of  Arnold,  that  of  Andre,  and  the  verses  of  Mr.  Wil 
lis  and  Mr.  Miller  have  at  various  times  been  given  to  the  public. 


No.   IV. 

COLONEL  BENJAMIN  TALLMADGE   TO   GENERAL  HEATH. 
[From  the  Heath  MSS.] 

Pine's  Bridge,  Oct.  10$,  1780.  —  DEAR  GENERAL:  Since  my 
return  from  Head  Quarters  a  few  days  since,  I  have  been  honored 
with  your  agreeable  favor  of  the  21st  ult.  with  its  enclosed  from 
Mr.  Broome,  as  also  another  of  the  30th  ult.  I  am  much  obliged 
to  you  for  your  kind  attention  in  forwarding  my  letters  to  Mr. 
Broome  as  well  as  his  Returns  to  me. 


470  APPENDIX. 

Before  this  reaches  you,  the  information  of  Major  Andre's  exe 
cution  must  undoubtedly  have  been  received.  Thro'  the  course 
of  his  Tryal  and  Confinement  (during  which  I  had  the  charge  of 
him  a  great  part  of  the  time)  he  behaved  with  that  fortitude  which 
did  him  great  honor.  He  made  every  confession  to  the  Court 
which  was  necessary  to  convict  him  of  being  a  Spy,  but  said 
nothing  of  his  accomplices.  During  his  confinement  I  became 
intimately  acquainted  with  him ;  and  I  must  say  (nor  am  I  alone 
in  the  opinion)  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  young 
gentlemen  I  ever  was  acquainted  with.  Such  ease  and  af 
fability  of  manners,  polite  and  genteel  deportment,  added  to  an 
enlarged  understanding,  made  him  the  idol  of  General  Clinton 
and  the  B.  army.  On  the  day  of  his  execution  he  was  most  ele 
gantly  dressed  in  his  full  regimentals,  and  marched  to  the  destined 
ground  with  as  much  ease  and  cheerfulness  of  countenance  as  if 
he  had  been  going  to  an  Assembly  room.  Tho'  his  fate  was  just, 
yet  to  see  so  promising  a  youth  brought  to  the  gallows  drew  a  tear 
from  almost  every  spectator.  He  seemed,  while  with  me,  to  be 
almost  unmindful  of  his  fate,  and  only  regretted  his  disappoint 
ment. 

Since  Arnold  has  been  at  New  York,  he  has  flung  into  the 
Provost  many  of  our  friends  whom  he  will  have  punished  if  pos 
sible.  I  fear  it  will  injure  the  chains  of  our  intelligence,  at  least 
for  a  little  time,  till  the  present  tumult  is  over.  I  am  happy  that 
he  does  not  know  even  a  single  link  in  my  chain.  His  Excel 
lency  General  Washington  has  undoubtedly  given  you  the  partic 
ulars  of  the  whole  hellish  plot,  which  was  laid  to  have  nearly  over 
thrown  the  liberties  of  this  country.  So  providential,  I  had  almost 
said  miraculous  a  detection  of  such  deep-laid  villany  can  hardly  be 
found  in  the  history  of  any  people. 

Joshua  Smith,  an  accomplice  with  Arnold,  was  under  arrest 
when  I  left  Head  Quarters  a  few  days  since,  and  will  doubtless  be 
punished  capitally. 

Oct.  llth.  —  I  have  this  moment  received  information  from  my 
agents  at  New  York,  but  no  letters.  The  conduct  of  that  in 
famous  Arnold  has  been  such  since  his  arrival  at  New  York  that 
our  friends,  who  were  not  even  suspected,  are  too  much  agitated 
at  the  present  juncture  to  favor  us  with  intelligence  as  usual.  I 
hope  in  a  little  time  the  storm  will  blow  over.  I  have  two  ac- 


COLONEL  TALLMADGE  TO  GENERAL  HEATH.   471 

counts  from  New  York,  but  neither  thro'  my  old  channel ;  one  of 
which  is  that  the  enemy  have  embarked  a  considerable  body  of 
troops  and  were  put  to  sea  ;  another  that  their  embarkation  goes 
on  very  slowly. 

The  letter  herewith  sent  please  to  forward  to  Mr.  Broome. 
With  compliments  to  the  gentlemen  of  your  family,  I  am,  &c. 

P.  S.  His  Excellency  General  Washington,  with  the  Light 
Infantry,  the  Pennsylvania,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts  Lines, 
has  moved  lower  down  New  Jersey,  near  Posaick  falls.  General 
Green  with  the  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  New  Hampshire 
Lines,  has  gone  to  West  Point. 


THE    END. 


CAMBRIDGE:    PRINTED  BY  H.  o.  HOUGHTON. 


D^="  Any  Books  in  this  list  will  be  sent  free  of  postage,  on  receipt 
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BOSTON,  135  WASHINGTON  STREET, 
APRU,  1861. 

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by   TlCKNOR    AND    FlELDS.  13 


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14       A  Lift  of  Books  Publifhed 


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by   TlCKNOR    AND    FlELDS.  15 


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